


Love And Honor

by Tiger_Lilly13



Category: Alien vs Predator (2004), Aliens vs Predators Series - Various Authors, Predators (2010), The Predator (2018)
Genre: Alien Sex, Alien/Human Relationships, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Backstory, Bad Bloods, Blood and Gore, Breeding Kink, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Genetic Engineering, Grinding, Hunting, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Knotting, Large Cock, Love, Mates, Mating Rituals, Mild Gore, Murder, New Characters Mentioned, Ni'Kotam is too sweet, Non-Consensual Touching, Outer Space, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Predators - Freeform, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rating will change, Romance, Sex is here!, Sex will be in chapter 9!, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Size Difference, Size Kink, Space Battles, Space Flight, Tenderness, Torture, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Yautja, courting, embedded image in chapter 7 of Selene, genetic manipulation, there will be smut, unwanted fingering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2020-05-12 03:21:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19220542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiger_Lilly13/pseuds/Tiger_Lilly13
Summary: It did not matter anymore. No, he has to get to Earth. To find the little human that he has been in constant contact with for the past several cycles. A human that has become his only friend in the galaxy, that has not only occupied his thoughts but has taken refuge in his heart.He has to get to her.He needs to warn her about the upcoming invasion of her planet, and to hopefully get her out of there before it’s too late.This will be a reshaping and complete rehashing of The Predator 2018, with new characters and a new story. Fugitive is the only one that is from the original movie that will be in this.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ALERT! AUTHOR RANT INCOMING, STRONG OPINIONS INBOUND (PLUS SPOILERS FOR THE PREDATOR 2018): Okay, so here goes. I have been a diehard Predator fan for well over a decade. They were the first aliens I had ever seen in movies, and to be honest the Predators woke me sexually. They have meant so much to me over the years and I have studied their lore from the movies, comics, and games. 
> 
> And to witness the travesty that was The Predator 2018 was a complete dumpster fire. Shane Black should be ashamed of how much he shit all over the lore, the species, and the overall fear that the Yautja is supposed to instill in all of us. He turned what was supposed to be a superior and honorable race into a laughing stock of 'yo mama' jokes and shit CGI. 
> 
> It literally broke my heart and made me so angry that he could turn this beautiful species into a fucking joke. And to basically throw out everything we know about the Yautja and make up some random bullshit about genetic altercations, which makes no sense whatsoever because the Predators are already the top of the food chain with their technology.
> 
> The only good thing, in MY OPINION, to come out of this movie was Fugitive. He was badass and had a sense of humor, which i appreciated.
> 
> So, what I have done is taken Fugitive away from Shane Black, given him a Yautja name, and will give him a story that he deserves, and that all us diehard Predator fans deserve. And yes, there will be smutty romance because that is the kind of stuff I like to see.
> 
> And do not even get me started about the stupid iron man suit at the end, that was just appalling.
> 
> RANT OVER!
> 
> If anyone wants to see anything specific or has any ideas, I would love to collaborate. I have put Yautja translations in the end notes. I had to make some words up. Enjoy!

Clawed, dexterous fingers fly over the crimson interfaces, deafening alarms ringing in his ears as fires erupt all over the hull and inside the cabin from the explosions, blown out jagged metal from fissures and tears in the plated walls slither like serpents through the interior structure and suspended, exposed wires dangle from the ceiling and busted terminals, the crackling ends of the coils creating sparks every time they swing onto the railings. Red lights blindingly flash in frenzied panic, water seeping steadily from the vessels oxygen pipes, creating dangerous puddles so close to the ominous, snapping electricity.

The fully armored Yautja recoils with an anxious bark as another blast rockets over the ship, barely missing the main engines by a few meters, a display of blue and white flashes illuminating the cockpit in a deadly spectacle. With shields at only forty percent, there’s no way the hull will hold against another direct hit. He takes the helm and banks sharply from side to side, releasing debris into the vacuum of space to try and throw off his assailants targeting systems, but to no use, as the significantly larger clanship stays right on his tail, it’s cannons firing without restraint.

The furious voice of the Elder echoes through the control room from the comms, calling the fleeing Yautja a traitor, a defector, Fugitive, demanding he surrender and return for retribution or be obliterated. He ignores these proclamations, certain that if he did so, he would be executed mercilessly. He growls at the speaker with a sneered, “ _Pauk-ui!_ ” and smashes the communications terminal with a closed fist, causing a whine to screech from the damaged computer, but silencing the irate shrieking of his former leader. He resumes his concentration on priming the main thrusters, keying in the sequence of numerals to activate the charges for the jump through space, all the while trying to maneuver the ship out of the way of the plasma missiles hurtling towards his commandeered vessel.

His once revered and respected Elder, Ha’Kuth, has lost it, the older Yautja consumed by a blinded rage and a voracious desire for power and synthesized evolution. He has become obsessed with creating the perfect hunter, the perfect killer, the perfect predator. Absolutely ludicrous. There is no need for it; his people are already the prime of the universe. Even as a born and bred member of the Apex Clan, Ni’Kotam has always known that what his seniors were doing was wrong and unnatural. The gene editing, the splicing, the upgrading. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t honorable. Where is the pride felt in ones achievements if the target does not stand a chance against such an advanced adversary? What point is there to the hunt if one is already stronger than the prey they pursue? 

Even when faced with the opportunity to upgrade himself after he was Blooded, he outright refused, which only furthered his maverick status among the others. He only relented because of mutual pressure from his closest brothers, deciding to only inject human DNA, it being far less dangerous and manipulating then what others have done to themselves, but it only further isolated him from the others, the alien genes providing him with deeper emotions and a more philosophical intellect. Those new traits made it even more difficult to witness many of his fellow clan members become abominations, monsters even in his own eyes, as a result of this experimentation, only to be praised for the courage and devotion to develop and grow into what they would consider to be better and stronger Yautja. He had been disgusted by it.

Ni’Kotam couldn’t stand another minute of Ha’Kuth’s ramblings, belligerent talks of progressing the species, of abandoning traditions and essentially turning their backs on the rest of society. Becoming outcasts. Becoming Bad Bloods. It is the most dishonorable and shameful course of action the Elder could take, and the clan just follows him without objection, the population addicted to the upgrades, enhancements, and ‘improvements’. The others do not see that their leader has been plagued by the Rage sickness, the uncontrollable wrath that twists and gnarls his mind and clouds his judgment that only leads to irrational decisions and the inevitable destruction of the entire tribe. No, they call his new teachings the ‘Exaltation’, the next stage in Yautja evolution, and Ha’Kuth is honored as their deity. As if any of them remember what honor is.

They do not realize what has been done to them, how far they have fallen. Ni’Kotam has watched helplessly as each of his fellow brothers and sisters, some he would have called his friends, fall victim to these horrendous modifications, with not all of them coming out alive. Some pay for this unnecessary affliction with their very lives, their bodies too perverse and mutilated, the DNA injected into their blood contorting and marring them indefinitely beyond recognition. And instead of showing them mercy and ending their misery quickly, as they should to any lesser creature, their broken forms are taken, their agonized screams and tortured cries resounding through the entire ship, their sole purpose now only for dissection and research. Ni’Kotam does not know or want to know how gravely they suffered, how agonizingly painful it must have been to be taken apart piece by piece, to be studied and inspected like an insect, all for a futile and meaningless death.

To witness those who survive the ‘Exaltation’ become vicious and brutal thugs, no better than their beastly cousins that occupy entire planets to hunt game they have kidnapped, has been what humans call a nightmare. Fights between brothers are now a common occurrence, most ending in bloodshed. Breeding has been all but forgotten, males no longer interested in providing pups, and the females that are not invested in the progression of the clan, are executed. All are possessed, fixated on an unworthy goal that has poisoned the minds of each Yautja. And at the forefront of this demise is a leader who not only approves this new way of life, but aggressively enforces it.

Less than a cycle ago, the clan was called into the large foyer, a communal area where announcements can be made for everyone to hear, usually only used in emergencies, but lately have become more and more frequent as Ha’Kuth’s mental state continued to decay. The Elder stood on a platform above them all, in his withered, ceremonial garb and his glaive that has seen countless battles at his side. Standing there amongst his brothers, observing their malformed bodies and snarling maws with distain, Ni’Kotam hoped that whatever the Elder had to say, it would be quick so he could retreat back to his bunk. Most likely just another hunt to be organized, maybe he will finally be able to get off this ship and claim a trophy, something he hasn’t done in a long while.

But that isn’t what happened.

Ni’Kotam can vividly remember what the Elder spouted so passionately on that alter, his words filled with hatred and venom, his sermons resonating throughout the atrium of the clanship and clawing into the lost souls of his brethren. He shouted of his hatred for humans, the lesser beings becoming too arrogant and haughty, many of their kind having been able defeat more than a few hunters before. He had alleged that they were too weak, too insignificant, too much of a nuisance and not worthy of hunts any longer. Ni’Kotam wanted to scoff at that statement. What did the Elder know about worthiness?

But then, his Elder declared the one thing Ni’Kotam was so fearful that he would ensure. He proposed a plan to destroy the humans and take over their planet, “ _Ta wyiat thsik R’ka, thwei yi thei-de ket vi s’yuitde ooman n’ithya!_ ”

The crowd around him thundered and roared in rage fuelled agreement, beating their chests and thrusting their spears in the air in solidarity, bellowing over and over, “ _M-di h’chak!_ ” and, “ _Thei-de ket vi oomans!_ ” Ni’Kotam looked on in horror as his family raised their weapons to the Elder, as if Ha’Kuth was the great Paya himself, preparing his servants for war.

War with the humans, as if the warm-bloods stood a chance against them. It would be like crushing _zabin_ under their feet. No honor, no hunt, no sport. Just annihilation and eradication.Extinction.

_M-di h’chak…_

This reason is why Ni’Kotam stole this ship and is now on the run. He could not stand idly by any longer as the insanity of his clan persisted. He had always been an outsider, never agreeing with the others and keeping mostly to himself. Even before he was altered with the human DNA and receiving its emotional benefits, he was not one to socialize and preferred a life of solitude, but managed to blend in enough not to cause a disruption. But Ha’Kuth takes his vision for the future of the species too far, his personal crusade against the humans now obvious and his plans to invade revealed. There is nothing Ni’Kotam could have done to stop it. One lone Yautja rising up against the entire clan of his genetically altered brethren would have been foolish and only mean certain death. They would never see reason, most too twisted and perverted, dependent on the rush of alien blood coursing through their veins.

He did not recognize them anymore. His brothers, his sisters, his entire clan, all now genetically mutilated creatures with no other care than destruction and devastation.

It did not matter anymore. No, he has to get to Earth. To find the little human that he has been in constant contact with for the past several cycles. A human that has become his only friend in the galaxy, that has not only occupied his thoughts but has taken refuge in his heart.

He has to get to **her.**

He needs to warn her about the upcoming invasion of her planet, and to hopefully get her out of there before it’s too late.

Just as he enters in the coordinates for the jump to her homeworld, a projectile hits and he loses his balance, causing the distracted Yautja to topple over, tumbling with the momentum of the ship and landing violently on fragments of jagged steel protruding out of the blown vents below the deck, a piece of metal piercing through his side. “ _C’jit!_ ” He howls, grabbing at the injury and quickly tearing away from the wreckage in the floor, wobbling unsteadily to his feet. His breath leaves him in a forceful gust as he bends over with a grunted trill, the elicit, throbbing pain migrating up his spine and soaking into his brain, pounding and curdling his fluorescent blood that now oozes freely from the open laceration on his abdomen, the mesh armor on his torso frayed and ripped, the skin and muscle underneath torn to shreds. He holds the gaping wound closed, gritting his inner jaw and grunting out expletives from the agony.

Ni’Kotam manages to pull himself together and stumble back up to the main console, holding himself up by one bloodied hand on the dash, preforming a diagnostics check to the thrusters and the hull integrity. Luckily, there are no exterior breaches, so a portal will be possible to perform. After a few ticks and shrills from the computer, the readings come back complete. He sneers at the results. Only a few units of power left, the blast having ruptured the main fuel tanks, depleting most of the energy needed in order to create the tear.

He will only get one shot at this.

Without wasting further time, he throws the switch, causing the ship to shake and stutter, rumbling and generating intense heat and pressure all around him, a penetrating buzzing wriggling in his ear canals. His eyes dart up to look through the window just as a beam of bright white light rips from the vessel, a violent hole created that tears through time and space, enveloping the visible stars in a serrated fracture of pure, crackling power. He quickly slams on the thrusters for that last push he needs, and the ship marginally slips into the portal before the fissure closes behind him, the fuel now exhausted and pinging it’s irritation at being overexerted.

Ni’Kotam breathes a sigh of relief, leaning his head back and letting his shoulders drop, the tension easing from his stiff muscles. He made it through, alive. He didn’t even believe he could get this far, but it is no time to celebrate and relax. He still has to find a way down to the little blue planet without being detected, and he has to plot a course for the closest safe area to land near to where his human resides.

He doesn’t know how much time he has, but he must try. He only hopes she will come with him when he finds her and that this journey has not in vain.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, this is a romance story. There will be action and space battles and all that jazz, but I want to focus on the relationship of the Yautja and his human for now. I'm sorry it's taking me so long to get a chapter out, I want to make sure its as perfect as it can be and I have gone back and forth between ideas a lot. But here is the end result. I hope you enjoy!

_Muscles burning, aching, lungs gasping desperately for air, wounded eyes too clouded from salty tears to see, how to move through the trees and vines and shrubs with the hollers of angry, snarling beasts thundering their way towards her, the thick, treacherous jungle not impeding their pursuit in the slightest. What little sunlight that seeps through the dense canopies beats down on her sweaty face, her skin scorching in the heat, as if to liquefy at any moment. The clothes she wears are shredded and filthy; her feet bare on the muddied ground, jagged rocks and sharp branches slicing into her flesh like shards of glass, leaving trails of bright red markers for the monsters to track._

_She has nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. They will catch her, they will torture her, do to her what they did to them. She will scream, she will writhe, she will beg for an end that will never come, an absolution from all the wrong she has done in the world to deserve such a horrific punishment. But there is no one to listen to her prayers, no one to save her from her gruesome fate that she herself has brought upon them all._

_She stumbles over the same log she always does, never able to recall exactly where it is, the location always changing, always shifting, never in the same place she remembers it to be, the tinder catching her foot and causing her to tumble down through the fallen leaves and collide through the thick brush. Every muscle, every tendon, every bone screeches in agony. She is too weak to move, too exhausted both physically and in her heart, no longer holding onto the will to keep running. Lying there, defeated, and with nowhere to go, she curls up in on herself and she cries._

_She cries for her mother, cries for her father, cries for their forgiveness for her stupidity that preceded their horrific deaths, screaming her misery into her bloodied hands. She prepares for the monsters that are surly to grab her at any moment, to rip her flesh from her bones and do unspeakable horrors to her body, their talons tearing away her skin to get at the meat inside her, shredding her very soul into pieces. There will be no escape from their torment but for the sweet release of death._

_But she does not feel their biting teeth and sharpened claws._

_Instead, there is a shift in the air around her. A flutter of wind, feather light steps upon grass and mud, the small hairs on the back of her neck prickling against her flesh. She can sense an unknown presence standing before her, unmoving and insidious, looking over her, observing. She barely musters the courage to open her eyes, slowly letting her strained, emerald orbs breathe and blinking away the moisture that continues to pour. Only just managing to lift her head and scan the area around her, still holding her knees tucked into her chest, she cannot see anything but thick jungle and endless wilderness, her jaw trembling and her heart thrashing loudly against her ribs as her muscles tense around every broken bone._

_Cold, unadulterated terror shrouds her body when she hears it, the clicking trills that emits from this invisible entity. She swallows thickly as shimmering lights and fizzy static fill the stifling jungle air, strange, metallic beeps sounding from somewhere in front of her, until the bended and distorted light shapes and reforms to reveal her hidden stalker._

_Frozen in fear, her gaze rises up its massive body, its leg muscles as thick as the trees around them. The being is encased in some kind of heavy, metal armor, only its biceps exposed as the wrists are covered in hefty gauntlets. A strange mesh grid lies on the sides of its torso, exposing pale grayish yellow skin with speckled, dark spots similar to the scales of a snake. Black, tubular extensions rest upon its shoulders, emerging from the side of its head like dreadlocks, two beaded jewels encasing each one. Her eyes reach the mask upon its face, or what she believes to be mask, and the eyes flash in a bright, yellow pulse as the creature lets out inquisitive clicks, tilting its head in curiosity._

_For reasons she cannot begin to fathom, the panic, the terror, the pain, all melts away from her body and mind as the creature slowly kneels in front of her, its large, alien form enormous to her small, shaking stature. The beaten, frail woman below is in awe of the imposing being, letting out a despairing, pleading whimper, blinking away the tears that fall, unable to move as it extends its hand gently towards her, ebony claws of its own resting at the tips of its fingers that should be menacing and vicious in her eyes._

_She is not afraid as she reaches out for it._

_For **He** will not hurt her._

She wakes with a gasp of breath, sitting up and clutching her racing heart as it beats wildly in her chest, the muscle still lost somewhere deep inside her mind. Panting, shaking, and squeezing her lids shut, she tries to drive away the terror that haunts her dreams every time she closes her weary eyes, her sheets tangled around her legs damp with her perspiration. It always feels so real, so pliable in her hands, a tangible fear that she can reach out and touch and hold. In reality, she cannot to let go, cannot release the demons that swirl inside her head and taunt her with their very existence, forcing her to relive the memories over and over again.

Gritting her teeth, she manages to ease the tension in her bones, taking deep, steadying breaths just as she was taught to. Letting out one final gust of air, she opens her eyes once the panic withers and is under her control. She glances over at the clock on her night stand, the red lights staining her otherwise black surroundings with the numbers 2:34am. She sighs and drops her head into her hands, gathering her thoughts and chasing away the last few remaining remnants of her reoccurring nightmare.

It shouldn’t be this difficult anymore, but the hurt never fades away, always lurking inside her and causing the itching of her skin to inflame and infect. It’s been over two years now, and she still can’t think about it without a lump forming in her throat and her lungs refusing to work. Remembering the horrid screams and paralyzing fear, the smell of sweat and gunpowder, the heaviness of the jungle air thick with humidity and dread, the metallic taste of blood in her mouth and dirt caked on her skin. Time will never heal the wounds inflicted on her in that place; no matter how many pills she takes or how much alcohol she drinks to attempt to forget and move on with her life.

She runs her hands down her pale face, wiping away the tears that stain her cheeks, combing through her long, brunette hair to rid the knots that formed in her unconscious struggle. Every day for her is a mental and physical battle, the crippling symptoms of PTSD and the piercing loneliness that is only made worse by the way she isolates herself from the outside world. She doesn’t know how else to cope with the constant, throbbing ache in her heart that suffocates all her attempts at a normal life.

She barely even remembers what normal is anymore. Normal is not shutting herself inside her apartment like a hermit. Normal is not severing all ties with family and colleagues, never answering her phone or the door when someone comes to check in on her. She doesn’t care for them, or any human for that matter, not after what happened. Paranoia has gripped her, sinking its claws into her when she even considers reconnecting with old friends.

There is only one being in the universe that she cares about anymore, one who she is not afraid of, one who she has come to love.

The alien that saved her life that day.

An alien who has not contacted her in a few weeks, and because of that, she is getting anxious, which would explain the severity of the nightmares lately. It would be rather insulting to him for her to worry for him so much, but as a human, she can’t help her emotions to surface when thinking of him in any kind of danger, which is ridiculous because all he does is put himself in danger. Still, he usually at least contacts her after a few days, a week at most, but it’s been too long and the foreign device that he made for her lies silent in her nightstand drawer, never making a sound.

Forming a relationship with an extraterrestrial is not something she had dreamed of when she was a little girl, and a human hunting one at that, but that is where she is now. After he had saved her and mutilated her evil captors, he carried her home, nursed her wounds and stayed with her until she recovered enough for her to be on her own. He created the little mechanism that would let them keep in contact for when he had to leave, not wanting to part ways from her completely. He has visited her between his hunts here on Earth, spending time with her and letting her get to know her savior. At first he could only understand her, having been to Earth many times and studied the language. It was a bit of a struggle to finally find a way to communicate before he constructed the machine to help her understand his speech.

They have formed a bond unlike anything she could have imagined. She can easily say he is her best friend, and if previous encounters with him are anything to go by, maybe even something more. The spark in his olive green eyes, how they gaze at her and linger on her body, as if both in awe and wonder, has turned her cheeks red many times. And even though he is as alien as they come, with his hulking body nearly twice her height, scaly textured skin, and menacing mandibles that encase his carnivorous mouth, she can look past all of those corporeal differences that should be terrifying to any human and see who he really is; a kind, intelligent individual, with a dorky sense of humor and a gentle heart. After some time of friendly companionship, they have grown closer, unafraid now to be in each other’s arms and forgetting that they come from completely different worlds.

She shakes her head and smiles, biting her bottom lip and remembering the last time he was here with her. He was more affectionate than usual, asking her questions about human anatomy and sharing the details about his own. His armor and mask lay on the carpeted floor of her apartment, his body mostly bare and holding her tight against his side while he lightly traced his sharp claws on the skin of her shoulder as she stroked the flexible quills that protrude from his naked chest. Eventually, the conversation turned very intimate, but it never escalated to anything physical. She wonders if maybe he was only indulging in curiosity, or if he is planning to take their relationship into new territory. Not that she would be against it by any means.

They would do this often, lie together and talk for hours on end, about her life before her parents were killed, about his life aboard his clanship and the rising tensions between him and his people, about how they have grown so close that neither of them can imagine a universe without the other.

Here, in her little home, it was just him and her, two beings that found each other in the worst way imaginable, only to become each other’s focal point of comfort, peace and tranquility.

She sighs in disappointment at the remembrance that she hasn’t heard from him for some time while reaching for the prescription pill bottle next to her, turning on her lamp on top of the nightstand and laying back on the pillows, the little orange container a heavy weight in her hands. She reads the prescription label ‘Whitmore, Selene’ her eyes scanning lower to the letters ‘Clonazepam for anxiety and insomnia’. She rolls the bottle in her hands, huffing through her nose. She shouldn’t take more, but she is so desperate for any kind of sleep without dreams, needing to get some rest before her appointment tomorrow with her psychiatrist. Dr. Shelby is nice enough, but he doesn’t tolerate tardiness.

Just as she is about to open the safety lock cap, the high pitched crash of shattering glass reverberates like a bomb went off beyond her bedroom, the near silent night wrecked by the explosion. Her eyes widen and she freezes, dropping the bottle onto her lap as all the air is sucked out of her lungs and her muscles tense violently.

Someone is breaking into her apartment.

She remains still as a statue, unable to breathe, her limbs refusing to move as her ears listen intently for any movement or hushed voices outside her door. She waits, and waits. An unnerving stillness settles over her, as she expects to hear at least something, whispers or footsteps, but nothing breaks through as the silence engulfs her once again.

Her eyes slowly move to the bat she keeps by her bedside. At the sight of the aluminum weapon, she snaps out of her stupor, leaping out of bed and grabbing the bat without hesitation, testing the weight of it in her hands that tremble uncontrollably. She has never played baseball in her life, but she needed some kind of home protection system, and she is too afraid of guns to handle one or keep one in the house. A young woman living alone, especially one who has the issues that she does, a way to protect herself is a necessity. She never thought she would actually need it, but she is certainly thankful that she has it now.

She silently creeps up to her bedroom door, laying her ear against the wood and listening for the intruders. The only thing she can hear is her heartbeat, steadily about ready to bolt from inside her ribcage. It’s at this point that she looks down at her attire and is grateful that she is wearing something more concealing than her usual shorts and tank top due to the colder weather. When she doesn’t hear a sound, she gently turns the brass nob, easing the door open slowly, so as not to make any noise and alert whoever is in her home to her presence. Taking a deep breath and swallowing down her fear, she noiselessly steps out of the room and down the hall, gripping the bat steady in her hands and peeks around the corner into her living room.

A huge figure is kneeling on the floor, grabbing at his side and breathing heavily, a raspy gruff in his voice. She squints into the darkness, unable to make out any of his features, only that he is a very large man, and she gulps in trepidation, unknowing if her actions will have any effect on him, or just piss him off. Staying hidden behind the corner, her eyes land on the shards behind him and follow the wreckage to her sliding glass window, now shattered and open to the frigid cold air. His breathing suggests he has been injured from the break in. _Good_ , she thinks. It will make it easier to incapacitate him. _Hopefully_. She looks back to the intruder, blood pounding in her ears as she readies her weapon, aiming for his head.

Just as she is about to run and swing as hard as she can, the trespasser lifts his head to show her his face and her strike stops midair. She is greeted with the familiar yet alien mandibles that cover his mouth, his thick dreads falling off his shoulder, and his lime green eyes focusing on her as he clicks the syllables she has come accustomed to over these past two years. She stands their slack jawed in astonishment.

_It can’t be._

“Niko!” Immediately dropping the bat by her side with a loud thwack, she flips the switch on the wall, over head lights revealing her alien friend hunched over in the middle of her living room, his mask laying on the floor next to him and glass scattered all around his form. She scurries over to him, quickly landing on her knees, paying no mind to the serrated debris and lays her hands on his forearms, her eyes darting back and forth frantically over his face. Her mouth is permanently open, unable to produce any words or sounds other than indignant sputtering, her eyes wondering down to where he holds his side, florescent blood oozing through his large digits. She gasps as one of her hands covers her mouth in shock, unable to form a coherent thought from all the panic that is coursing through her veins.

Selene can’t stop the demands that try to pour from her mouth. A thousand questions want to spill out all at once. How did he get hurt? What is he doing here? Why hasn’t he contacted her? Why did he just break into her house? But all she can do is gawk at him in disbelief, speechless, her body not responding to any of her commands.

She watches his mandibles move up and down, making a flurry of clicks and growls, looking at her pointedly. She just sits there absolutely dumbfounded and she asks lamely, “What?”

Irritated, he barks a gruff and lifts his claws to tap the side of his head where his ear is purposely, his brow raised in obvious expectation.

Oh, her translator!

How could she forget? She puts her hand on his armor covered shoulder, “Hang on, I’ve got it here somewhere.” Jumping up to her feet, she dashes to her night stand in her bedroom, opening the drawer and digging through all the useless junk she has stored in there until she finds the little ear piece he had made for her so many years ago. She fiddles with the buttons, remembering the sequence of red numerals that he taught her and activates it with a metallic beep, sliding it in her ear like a Bluetooth headphone and rushing back into the living room where he is no longer hunched over but sitting with his legs out in front of him and back against the wall, still clutching the wound on his torso. It looks like a fresh injury, but he couldn’t have gotten hurt from crashing through her sliding glass door. _What the hell happened!?_

She kneels down next to him as he asks her, “Can you hear me?” Through her left ear she can still hear the garbled mess that is his native tongue, but in her right ear, she can understand him perfectly.

She nods her head frantically, trying to control the volume of her voice to not sound as panicked as she feels, “Yes, yes I can hear you!” Taking a deep breath and gathering her thoughts, she calmly begins, “Niko, why are you here?” She waves her hand at his injury, “What happened!?”

He tilts his head, “Oh you know.” He rasps, clutching his injured side with a grunt, “Thought I’d drop in, say hi.”

She scolds him, “This isn’t time for your jokes, Niko. You’re hurt. Stay right here, I’ll go get - ”

Just as she is about to stand up and look for her medical kit, he cuts her off with a strong grip on her forearm, forcing her to remain seated and wincing at the weight behind it, “Wait. You must listen to me.” She stares wide eyed at his commanding tone, one he never uses with her unless there is something serious he has to say, and that is a rare occurrence. She gives him her full attention, remaining seated and grabbing his hand and holding it to her chest, anchoring him to her so that he may continue, “Something bad has happened, Selene.”

A perplexed fear courses through her and she shakes her head, “What do you mean?”

He takes a steading breath, “Do you remembering me telling you about my clan, how we are different from the others of my people?”

She looks back through her memories and does recall that conversation. He had told her that his clan has been experimenting with DNA reconfiguration, something that flew way over her head at the time. He said that it was not the norm of his species and that he had his suspicions that what they were doing wasn’t acceptable and that the highest council on Yautja Prime doesn’t even know of the clans exploits. He expressed his concerns that the experiments were getting too intense and destructive, that his tribe leader was showing symptoms of being sick, or something like that. She tries to understand his culture, but there is just too much of a difference between his and hers that it is difficult for her to grasp most of it, though she tries to.

She answers him with a hesitant nod, “Yeah. I remember.”

“Good. Then you remember me telling you of Ha’Kuth, my leader?” The name sounds familiar, and even though she can’t pronounce his words, she recognizes the syllables. She nods once again and his demeanor changes from anger to dread, “It’s worse than I thought it to be. He’s lost his mind.” She swallows nervously as he continues, his brows drawn in a ferocious frown, “He’s testing with DNA he should not be, splicing us up and turning us into monstrosities. The others, they follow him, they do not dare refuse his orders and now, now he has done something unfathomable.” He looks directly into her eyes and she can feel the pain and grief in his own, “They’ve gone rouge.”

Her eyes narrow in confusion, “Rouge?”

His lower mandibles flare out briefly before returning, “It means that he and the entire clan are now banished from society, labeled outcasts and defectors.”

She has heard him speak of this before, recalling the term he had used when conveying his hatred for those who do not follow the path of honor. From what he has told her, that can only mean one thing, “Badbloods. You mean to say that your council now knows?”

He inclines his head in a very human gesture, “Yes, but that is not everything.”

She asks nervously, wary of what could be worse for him then that, “What is it?”

His hand that is still encased in her own squeezes gently and he leans down closer to her. She doesn’t breath as a cold chill slithers down her spine at the implications of what he is about to tell her, but nothing could have prepared her for the words he says next.

“He plans to invade Earth and eradicate humanity from existence.”

All the color drains from her face and she gaps at him, bile wanting to rise into her throat and her eyes as wide as saucers. Her hands begin to tremble again, her skin breaking out into a sweat and her blood pounding through her veins, drowning out all noise from her ears. Her mouth runs dry and she is unable to feel her limbs, her nails digging into the scales on his hand. Time stops and all she can do is repeat his words in her head over and over again.

A full scale invasion of Earth? She can’t even comprehend…how that could be possible. The magnitude of such a thing is just, not even in her ability to understand. She swallows down the urge to be sick and she manages to squeak out, “…why?”

He lowers his voice to a calmer note, attempting to sooth her racing heart that he can certainly hear, “I do not know. He returned from a hunt on Earth many cycles ago and has been ruthless and agitated ever since, raging about the insignificance of humans.”

She shakes her head in fearful confusion, dumbstruck and completely at a loss for what to do or say, “I don’t understand. If your clan is going to attack Earth, then…why are you here, Niko?”

The hulking Yautja levels her with the sternest gaze she has ever seen from him, “I’m here to get you out.”

“You mean, leave?” She asks in alarm, “Leave Earth?”

“Yes.” He answers, finality in his tone, “I do not know when he plans to invade, but I cannot let you be down here when it happens.”

Her head is swimming, her emotions bouncing all over inside her, unable to stick with just one. Her thoughts are a tangled mess on the whys and hows and whens, but she does not ask them, knowing that he will not have the answers. This is too much, she can’t handle this bombshell of information and then expect to go flying off into space with her alien friend as his people invade her planet and destroy everything she knows.

Just saying that out loud is beyond ridiculous.

She cannot keep her words from stuttering, “I…I need some…this is…I can’t…”

He lifts his hand to her cheek, engulfing her face and tilting her head to look at him. An intimate gesture from a being such as he would be comical to anyone unfamiliar with them. His tone is gentle as he says to her, “I know this is a shock, but we do not have much time.”

Her eyelids flutter closed as she takes a deep breath, holding his hand to her face, the scaly skin warm against her flesh. She licks her lips and opens her eyes, the rims pooling with moisture from terrified tears and a purr begins in his throat that she can feel through his hand, “Can I…can we please just, take a look at that,” She points to his injury, her fingerings shaking as she sniffs, “Get you some help? Fix you up.”

He wants to argue with her, she can see it in his penetrating gaze, but the pleading look she gives him stops his protests and he sits back against the wall in acceptance, “Yes.” She nods her head solemnly and stands, walking slowly to her bathroom and retrieving her medical kit, her movements robotic. It’s not as advanced as the equipment and technology that he possesses, but it will suffice for now.

As she assists him in attending to his wounds, she tilts her head up and looks through her broken glass door into the clear midnight sky. Flashes of images enter her mind, the skies clouded in dust and destruction and death, the planet engulfed in ever burning flames. A heavyweight settles in her heart, one she cannot possibly shoulder alone. She is the only one on Earth who knows of this imminent invasion, this upcoming war.

War. A war that her people will never be able to win.

Selene may not know it now, but she has just become humanity’s last hope for survival.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! This story will be a lot longer then I thought it would be and I'm trying to get all the ideas straightened out. Please enjoy!

“You broke my door.”

Ni’Kotam looks up from addressing his wound with an apologetic click, looking into her eyes that are attempting to be stern, but he can sense a bit of mischief in them. He has gotten better at noticing when she is being serious or not. It’s hard to tell with humans without the subtle undertones in their voices and the lack of mandibles, but he knows his Selene.

He clicks his tusks together, “Sorry.”

He watches her brows narrow as she asks him, “Why didn’t you just call me instead of breaking in here? You scared the shit out of me.”

He grunts as she applies a topical antiseptic to his open wound, his abdominal muscles clinching and rippling at the pain. It must have been worse than he thought. Stumbling his way to her place of dwelling was difficult, but he probably made his injury worse by not tending to it himself right when he landed. His urgency to get to her was not going to be thwarted by a measly cut, which in reality was more like a spear through the gut. He answers her inquiry, “My ships communications may have been a bit…incapacitated.”

“Meaning?”

She has raised a brow in perceptive suspicion. His human appears to know him as much as he knows her. He looks down, sheepish, and mutters, “I smashed it.”

She snorts a laugh and shakes her head, pressing a temporary bandage on the wound to close it off from infection, “Of course you did.”

He realizes he has not contacted her in some time, but only out of fear of his brothers discovering their correspondence since they were becoming skeptical of him and his odd human behavior, but he will explain it all to her later. It matters not at the moment because they are leaving very soon anyway. “You have no idea how irritating Ha’Kuth can be when his ire is directed toward me.” He gruffs out, “He would not shut up.”

She nods her head slowly, “Right.” She tapes the bandage in place, a temporary solution for now until he can get to his own medical kit, and leans back on her heels, admiring her work, “There. That should do until we can get you to your ship, which is where exactly?”

He inclines his head toward the door, signifying its location, “It is in its usual spot, outside the city, down by the river. Luckily the cloaking mechanism was still intact and I was undetected by your people, but we should leave quickly to avoid anyone getting suspicious.” He moves away from his spot against the wall to stand, though a bit wobbly from blood loss. He straightens and looks down at his little human, who has not moved and is staring at the floor, white teeth chewing on her lower lip. “Selene?” he asks, tilting his head curiously.

She raises her head, and a look of determination appears on her face, “I’m not leaving.”

“What?!” He barks, unable to hold back his surprise.

She gets to her feet slowly remaining stoic, undeterred by his loud outburst. She folds her arms across her chest, a position that he knows projects defense. “Niko, I can’t just leave. I’m the only human that knows about this, invasion and, leaving would be incredibly irresponsible.”

He briefly revels in the nickname she has given him since she cannot pronounce his full name before he registers the rest of her words. She cannot be serious. She actually wants to stay, after everything he has told her? His brow ridge comes down in an exasperated frown, “Then what will you do, hm? Tell your people? Your leaders? Try and convince them of an alien invasion and attempt not to sound crazy? I know how you humans can be.”

She uncrosses her arms and waves them around, “I don’t know, something! I could…” Her eyes flit about in her search for a rebuttal, “I could call the CIA, somehow. You could come with me! We’ll prove it them!”

He rolls his eyes in a very human gesture, “Oh yes, great idea. Expose myself to a bunch of humans that will certainly incarcerate us both. We would be separated, you may be killed, and I will be diced up for examination. And even if they did listen, how do you expect the humans to be able to fight off an entire clan of genetically modified Yautja? Your people do not have the technology that we do. We would not even have to set foot on the planet in order to eradicate half your population.” Moisture pools in her eyes and he feels guilty about being the cause of it. He is not trying to scare her on purpose, she just needs to understand that this fight is unwinnable and he can at least save her if nothing else.

But his human is a persistent one, “Well I have to do something because I am not leaving my species to die!”

He glares at her, growling low in his throat, “Stubborn…” He turns his back to her with a huff, his feet crunch on the glass still remaining on the floor as his lower mandibles clack and twitch with irritation. He paces toward the broken door, hands clenching into fists as he remains deep in thought on how to convince her to leave with him.

“What if it were you?”

He looks over his shoulder at her tiny voice, an intense frown on her lips, “What?”

“What if it were you?” She says with more confidence, “What if you were the only one who knew of an invasion of your planet that would kill everyone and destroy everything you’ve ever known. Would you run?”

He scoffs with a trill, “Do not be ridiculous. No species in this universe would-”

“Just pretend then!” She yells, shocking him with her boldness. She calms a moment then says, “Niko, please. What would you do if you were me? Would you run? Would you hide?” She walks closer to him, careful of the shards of glass, her eyes intense, “Would you cower?”

He lightly snarls at that statement, but pauses, mulling over the complete asinine idea that another species could even come close to his own, but, given the circumstances…

No, he would not run. He would fight, even if it was folly and would only end in his death. He would fight like the true warrior he was. He momentarily prides himself in his chosen human for her bravery. Most of her species are not as honorable as she.

He stands straighter, olive eyes stern and flexing his fingers, “No, I would not run.”

“Then how can you expect me to?”

He lets out a click in contemplation, acquiescing to her predicament and seeing the truth to her words. Maybe…maybe there is a way, to keep her safe, and to actively try and help her species. An idea strikes him, one that is wholly improbable and would more than likely end with both of their deaths, but what other choice does he have? He does not care for other humans, but she does, and he cares for her, therefore, he must suggest a solution.

“I have an idea.” He proposes, reluctantly, “It is not a very good one, but it may be our only chance.”

She gestures for him to continue, “I’m all ears.”

Ni’Kotam wants to sigh at her odd human expression, but lets it go for now, “You leave with me,” She opens her mouth to protest, but he raises a hand to stop her, “And we go to my home planet, Yautja Prime, and inform the Council of my clan’s treason and Ha’Kuth’s agenda.”

She narrows her brows in confusion, “I thought you said they already knew.”

“I am just assuming they do, I would be surprised if they were unaware of the clan’s…alterations.” If that is the case, then it is a good thing he jumped ship when he did, depending on if the Council wants to pursue them. He would not be absolved of his involvement in the clan just because he doesn’t agree with them, “But, if there is any chance that they do not know, then perhaps we can convince them to step in. My people do not tolerate disobedience, and we are not in the habit of destroying entire planets, especially those that we deem honorable hunting grounds.”

He can see her biting the inside of her cheek in thought, a quirk that he finds endearing, “And you think this could work? Getting an audience with your leaders and asking to help?”

He shakes his head, his dreads sliding across his shoulders, “I do not know, but it is worth a try, I would say.” He will not even begin to ponder on how having a human on Yautja Prime is going to unfold. He mentally shudders at the implications and quickly leaves those thoughts in the back of his mind.

“How long would it take us to get there?”

That could be problematic, “Considering the fuel for the jump through space I required to get here has been depleted, and with the ships damages, I could get us there in about a month in earth time.”

“A month!” She shouts, “The invasion could start by then!”

He walks up to her and puts his hands on her biceps to soothe her, “I realize that, but we may be able to make it in time for them to take initiative and stop them. It also gets you out of harm’s way, which is my main concern.” He gazes into her emerald eyes, not so subtly pleading with his own, though he would never admit to pleading. This is the only chance she has to survive.

She sighs, stepping closer into him, “I don’t have much of a choice then, do I?”

He tilts her chin up to look at him, her neck straining at his great height, “You always have a choice, Selene. I would not take you with me by force. But if you decide against this plan and stay, then you leave _me_ with no choice but to remain with you and protect you for as long as I can.” And he would, but he knows that wouldn’t last long. He is a fugitive now, marked for death by all of the clan. He will be actively hunted, and in the process, so will she. Knowing Ha’Kuth and his fanatics, he would make Ni’Kotam’s death is a painful one, and if they found out about Selene and his infatuation with her, she would fell the same fate. He will not let that happen. If he had to, he would end her life so that she does not suffer at their hands, not after everything she has been through. He could give her that much, and he would meet his death with relief and pride.

Her delicate hands land on his chest, still encased in his damaged armor. He wishes he could feel the warmth of her fingers on his skin instead, “So you’re leaving this up to me?”

His hands travel to her small waist, nearly touching his fingertips all the way around, holding her close, “Yes. Whatever you decide, I will honor it.”

She sighs heavily, “If asking your people to help us is the only thing I can do,” She pauses, and the longer she stays silent, the more nervous he becomes. He does not like these human emotions sometimes, it clouds his judgment and is like vines are wrapping around his lungs, but he is released from those stifling appendages when she finally answers, “Then that’s what I want.”

“So you will come?” His heart beats in excitement.

She takes in a deep, steadying breath, and then replies, “Yes.”

He brings her to him the rest of the way, wrapping his big arms around her tiny middle and bending a bit in the process, holding her close and purring his happiness into her hair, the strands getting tangled in his mandibles, “Then gather what you need for this journey. It will be a long one.”

She in turn nestles into his arms and he holds her to him, for as long as she needs, breathing in each other’s alien scent. He can’t image how painful this must be for her, to leave her entire race behind for even a sliver of a chance to save them. A decision he can’t possibly fathom having to make. But she is right. Were it him in her place, he would do whatever it takes to save his people, even from themselves, which is exactly what he had done when he left his clan, to expose how twisted they have become under Ha’Kuth’s leadership.

In a way, he can relate to her, wanting to fight for her people even if it meant certain death, not that death was a deter for the worthy goal. Just another reason why he has such strong emotions for her, “feelings” as she calls them. It has taken some time and patience to understand human emotions since he was configured with their DNA, but with her guidance, he is learning, and quite liking the new upgrade. Although he could do without feeling fear or sadness. That was not a welcome addition.

His human, his Selene, is a strong and honorable female, no matter how little she thinks of herself. He knows a noble warrior when he sees one and her willingness to travel the stars in search for answers makes him proud.

He can hear her swallow nervously as she lifts her head, “Okay.” She lets him go and scurries off down the hall to her bedroom. He can hear her rummaging around and throwing things about, but he pays it no mind, bending over to grab his mask, mindful of his injury. He may be able to survive on Earth for a week without his breathing apparatus, but his wound has made it more difficult. He checks the inside, assessing any damage and noting that he will have to reprogram some of the applications that assist with ship coordination, but it is otherwise unharmed.

Selene finally emerges from the back room, a pack over her shoulder, “Should I bring any food or water?”

He shakes his head in the negative, “That will not be necessary. We have plenty of rations on the ship to last for more than the allotted time.”

Selene goes to a hook on the wall and removes an item of clothing, pulling it on and closing the front of it. She takes a deep breath and slides up to him, looking behind her one last time, a look of longing and trepidation appearing on her face. He does not have time to decipher what she is thinking before she lifts her eyes to his and she says with determination, “Okay. I’m ready.”

He reattaches his mask, fastening the tubes and tethers into place. He nods at her and takes her hand, leaving the safety of her home and leading her to his ship.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge kudos to my beta reader elven_prophecy for helping me through this chapter! You're the best!!

Selene does not have time to question her decision or weigh all of her options. She just acted, didn’t stop and think about what she had agreed to, leaving that line of thinking for later when they are on Niko’s ship and on route to his home planet. Jesus…just saying that in her head leaves a deep pit in her stomach, but it is too late to change her mind now. It’s not as if she had anything keeping her here. She has no friends, what was left of her family are all busy with their own lives and have moved on. She has no real connection to anyone, not unless she counted the large alien currently dragging her through a forest to get to his space ship. She sighs inwardly, _that will never **not** sound insane._

She has never been this far out of the city before. Being a recluse for the last two years didn’t leave any room for exploration, not that she was interested anyway. Just leaving her apartment would send her into a tail spin of anxiety. She didn’t even know how dense this forest was, with all the little brooks and creeks impeding their way. She has been able to keep up with him for a short time, but with his much longer legs, she has to run as he briskly walks. It’s a bit frustrating, but she needs to remain focused and stay close to him.

Coming upon one of the rivers cutting through their path, it is clear that the jump will be too far for her. There is no way she will be able to cross without help. She stops him with a hand on his arm and looks up to him, pointing at the rushing water, “You’re crazy if you think I can make that.”

Niko scans the river and nods, crouching so that his shoulders are level to her head, “Climb on.” She does so with some hesitancy as she hoists her bag further up her shoulder. She awkwardly wraps her arms around his thick neck and her legs around his even thicker waist, mostly holding on with her thighs. They have been this close before but her crotch is right up against his back and she can’t help but feel a spark in her core at the contact. She chastises herself, _now is not the time, Selene._

She unlatches her translator from her ear and stows it inside her coat pocket, just in case it becomes dislodged and falls out. She can’t risk not having a way of communicating with him if he needs to say more than a few words. She hangs on for dear life as he leaps, clearing the river and sprinting the rest of the way, much faster than she could ever keep pace with. She hangs onto him tight, clenching her muscles as hard as she can. She is astounded that a creature with such brawn is able to move as fast as he does, winding through the woods as if it were nothing but a walk through the park, navigating through the pitch blackness as they travel further away from the city lights.

They enter a clearing in the trees and he goes to let her down gently, but with how tight she was squeezing her legs against him, she wobbles as she lets go and he spins around to catch her, holding her upright by her shoulders as her hands automatically wrap around his forearms. Her breath leaves her at his large hands essentially swallowing her arms as he keeps her steady, and she is thankful of his hold or else her knees would have given out on her.

Once she is stable, he pulls back, albeit slowly and tilting his head slightly in that cute manor he does when he is confused or curious. She clears her throat, “I’m good.” She steps around him with a fake smile, looking out into the nearly impenetrable darkness, “So…where is it?” She is trying to be tough, but the tremble in her voice gives away just how nervous she is.

He trills and opens his wrist guard, typing a sequence on the red numerals and then an electrical pulse resounds, setting the hairs of the back of her neck straight up. The crackling of bended light dissipates, illuminating the forest unnaturally and revealing the spacecraft. Her eyes widen. It looks almost exactly like how an alien ship would look, odd shapes and huge turbines and unusual metals encasing the hull. It was massive, about the size of a two story house and Selene swallows thickly at the sight. _This is getting too real._

She is in a daze as the heavy bay doors open; a wide ramp sliding out for them to enter the enormous ship. Niko grabs her arm and gently leads her in, the doors closing behind them. He takes her through the halls into what looks like a common room, with a large table and chairs and machinery all along the walls. He stops her with a hand on her lower back and he points to the table with a click and she blinks at him in question. He removes his mask and sets it down on the surface and pulls out a few small tools from his gauntlet, looking intently at the interior of the helmet. Ah, he needs to make some adjustments.

Letting him do what he needs to do, she wanders around the room, eyes scanning over the alien technology that any NASA scientist would sell their first born child to get their hands on. She should consider herself lucky; to be the first human to have ever set foot inside an alien ship, that she knows of at least. From the stories Niko has told her, only dead ones ever make on board. Her black, suede boots tap against the metal grating of the floor, hands in her pockets to keep from touching anything. The last thing she needs is to break something with her inability to keep her hands to herself.

Standing at the other end of the circular table, Selene places her backpack on the surface, watching Niko tamper with his mask. The device makes beeps and whirls, and ever so often a hiss that she presumes is a bad sound if his annoyed grunts are anything to go by. Her eyes lower to the table he is working on, the steel shining with the overhead lights, spotless of any debris. It looks so similar to the one that Niko had set her on when he carried out of that jungle so long ago. She lays her hand on it, the smooth surface cool to the touch…

_Pain. All she can think is pain. Sharp, throbbing, pulsing pain. She can barely breathe, ribs cracked and flesh torn. She is carried by strong muscle and dense metal. The beating sun vanishes from her skin and is replaced by smooth vibrations, artificial light blinding her already weakened vision. She is laid upon a surface. Solid, cold, unyielding. She can’t lift her body, can’t move her head from where it rests. She licks her dry, cracked lips, trying to scream for help, but her voice croaks and she can only manage a faint cry, a tear escaping down her dirty cheek._

_A dark figure blocks the light, a large hand turns her head this way and that. It is gentle with her as it pokes and prods at her broken body. She wants to say thank you, wants to ask what it is and why it saved her, but it shushes her, a purring emanating from somewhere inside the figure. Her muscles relax and she closes her eyes, the deep rumbling lulling her into serenity._

Selene pulls her hand back as if burned with a gasp, holding a clenched fist to her chest, the memory flooding back into her mind in a rush. Niko looks up at her reaction, tilting his head with a trill. She tries to smile but her eyes must have given away her anxiety and he sets down his helmet and walks around the table to her. He hesitates, but grabs her hand, engulfing the fist into his own and covering it with both of his hands. He rumbles deep in his chest as his tusks click softly. Niko emits his soothing purr, letting it flow through her arms and into her body, trying to calm her down.

She takes a deep breath, “I’m fine. Really.” She swallows and asks with a shaky voice, “Are we on the same ship that you…that we…” He lifts his left mandible in affirmation, his olive green eyes watching her closely, unblinking. She barely remembers that day, or what had happened after he found her in that jungle knocking on death’s door. She has tried to repress all the painful memories, using medications to control her symptoms of PTSD, but she forgot to bring those along in her haste to get here. _Damn it, how am I going to sleep without them?_

She turns towards him, overcome with emotion, wanting to just burrow into his arms and never leave. His purring causes her to shiver, but she is able to settle her racing heart and focus on his presence, lifting her eyes to his and holding them there. His eyes are small, but vibrant and expressive. She doesn’t know if that is due to the gene manipulation or if it’s just him, but she has always been captivated by a creature with such power and brutality to have such bright and dramatic eyes.

Breaking her out of her trance, he nods his head toward an open archway with a questioning click, his dreads falling off his shoulders as he moves. Selene has known Niko for over two years now; she hardly needs her translator for the little things, able to differentiate between his various clicks and growls. She understands what he’s saying. _Are you ready?_

She takes a deep, steadying breath, and says, “Yeah, let’s go.” He grunts and turns on his heels heading for the doorway. She follows right behind him out of the common room and through another set of halls and doorways, all lined with giant pipes, wires, and machines that softly glow with red and blue lights. She glances up at him and has just a moment where she again, notices their incredible size difference. For a being so large, he sure is sweet with her and she finds herself shyly smiling behind him.

Entering into what she thinks is a sort of control room; she stops dead in her tracts at the carnage before her as Niko heads to a set of terminals on a raised platform in the center of the room. Electrical popping and exposed wires hang from the ceiling, cracks and fissures in the steel walls and a few busted mechanisms verify his extravagant story of how he got here. _This place is a wreck!_ She is surprised he was able to get the ship down here in one piece.

Her eyes are drawn to a particular jagged piece of metal sticking out of the grating below the command station; coagulated green blood coating the steel. Her head whips to him as she points to it, “Is that where you got injured?” He nods his head with a growl without looking up from his terminal, tapping away at the keys. She looks back at the serrated piece with a knot in her stomach, thankful that he hadn’t landed on it in a more vital spot. That would have easily killed a human.

She shakes her head and walks onto the little catwalk where he is standing, watching him as his large digits expertly maneuver over the controls, listening to him mutter to himself. She can catch some words like _pauk_ and _mi_ , but the rest is a jumbled mess of grunts and clicks. She studies the screens he’s looking at and can only see those numerals that are his language, baffled at the amount of scrolling and coding that appears on each one. A few more beeps and hisses from the terminal and Selene hears him let out a sigh of relief.

She looks up at him, emerald eyes bright and curious, “So, are we good to go?” He nods his head with a click, typing a few more times on the computer before straightening. He places a hand on her shoulder, pointing out the front window and motions for her to watch.

All around her, machinery powers up, letting out a loud whirling similar to how a plane sounds when revving the engines. The floor begins to shake and she grabs his armored bicep for support, which he gladly gives her, using his other hand to hold her hand to him. She watches in astonishment as the shutters covering the blacked out window in front of her opens, showing her the darkness of the forest, but then a bright white light blinds her as the ship prepares for takeoff.

A loud impulsion of energy rocks the ship as it begins to slowly ascend, the ground below getting further and further away and the engines becoming louder. From her experience in flying and climbing to enormous heights, her ears should be popping and her stomach should be rolling, but she feels none of that, watching in disbelief as the earth below her continues to get smaller and smaller.

The ship pushes through the atmosphere easily, the loud engines then reverting to a low hum that reverberates throughout the room. All she can do is stand there slack jawed at the view. She is in space. Holy shit, she is in space! She lets go of Niko, springing toward the window and places her hands on the glass. Her eyes can’t stay in one place as she attempts to take it all in. It is even darker than she thought it would be, but the stars are brighter and fill the entire void with little, twinkling lights. To her utter shock, she spots the International Space Station, a tiny dot about ready to disappear behind the Earth.

And Earth…it really is _blue_! She’s in space. She’s…

Selene drops to the floor and lands on her knees painfully, but she doesn’t feel it. She puts her head in her hands, rocking back and forth as Niko rushes over and crouches next to her, purring loudly and rubbing her back. She’s in space. How many times has she said that to herself? And each time, it gets even more unbelievable. She is in space on an alien space craft going to the alien’s home planet to try and convince his people to intervene in a full scale invasion of her entire species. _This can’t be happening…_

Next to her, Niko trills anxiously. She doesn’t know exactly what he asks but she can guess. She sighs into her hands, “I just need a minute.” She swallows thickly, trying to keep the bile down that threatens to rise, “Is there somewhere I can lay down?”

He nods his head, and stands, scooping her up bridal style all while purring deep inside his chest. She holds onto him and squeezes her eyes shut, burrowing her face into his still armored chest. Niko carries her back through the common room, grabbing her bag off the table and heading into a side room that she didn’t see before. She can’t help but reminisce on how he had carried her when they met, just like this, taking her to safety. _Always looking out for me, big guy._

With her eyes still shut, she can only hear a door sliding open and she cracks her eyes open. It looks like a small hotel room, fit with a bed, a smaller table and a weapons and armor rack in the corner. The bed is bigger than a king size, easily able to hold two, possibly three of his kind. He lays her down on it gently and she sheds her coat and boots, throwing them to the floor hastily. The furs, or what she believes to be furs, are soft against her skin and she lies back, closing her eyes once more against the dizziness that has over taken her. 

Niko leans over her, a hand on the bed next to her shoulders and he chuffs at her. She opens her eyes again, gazing into the beady, olive ones in front of her, filled with concern and worry. She raises a hand and places it on the side of his face with the black discoloration, and his purr increases. She whispers, “I’ll be fine, you go do what you need to.” He raises his tusk into her palm, using his own large hand to caress the hair away from her face, an action that makes her shiver.

They remain that way, just staring, and she can’t help but want to pull him down with her, drag him into the bed and… a beep echoes from his wrist gauntlet. He growls and glares at it, but huffs a sigh. He trills and leans back to stand, pointing at her and then to the bed. She understands. Stay. She nods her head, watching him leave the room as the doors swish behind him.

Selene throws her arm over her eyes, blocking out the florescent light emanating from the ceiling. She has got to get herself together. But looking out that window into the void of space… it had shaken her. This wasn’t a dream. This was real, this was happening. At least Niko is here with her. Just saying his name in her head grounds her. She will need him more than ever in this endeavor. Hell without him, she wouldn’t even be here. Humanity would be screwed if it wasn’t for him really, but now that burden has fallen onto her.

The undeniable fact is, all of humanity is now dependent on one really messed up person who can barely handle just leaving her apartment without having a panic attack. She sniffs, her eyes watering as her chest tightens painfully. She can’t do this, the fuck was she thinking? How in the hell is she going to convince some alien species to help save her planet from genetically mutated monsters? Monsters that are originally the exact same aliens that she is trying to get help from? She groans and turns over on the bed, her face smothered in the furs.

_Humanity is fucked…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My other Skyrim story is finished and now this will be my main focus moving forward. Sometimes inspiration strikes and doesn't care which fandom you are currently following. Oh well :)
> 
> pauk - Fuck
> 
> mi - fuel


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to elven_prophecy for beta reading!!

_C’jit._

Ni’Kotam sighs heavily as he leaves the room, leaves an anxious Selene lying on his bed. The message from his gauntlet was to inform him of the close range to the red planet that the humans call ‘Mars’, but he figured she needed the space. His head is muddled with guilt, confusion; annoying human emotions that he still has difficulty processing. She brings those feelings to the forefront of his mind, always challenging him and always baffling. There is another emotion that she brings out of him as well, one he has tried to dismiss as nothing but fascination, but he is beyond denying that part of him now.

He wanted to stay with her, he wanted to climb into the bed with her and…he doesn’t know. The look in her eyes as she lay below him set his blood to boil. She has never looked at him like that before, as if she wanted to mate with him. Her eyes were lidded; her lips parted to reveal that flat human tongue. And her scent…it was intoxicating. It led his mind into a frenzy. He wanted to bury his nose in her neck, strip her down and _take_ her.

But she couldn’t have known. They have never discussed the mating habits of their respective species. He had asked her once, long ago, about human reproduction and explained to her about his own, but that had been the extent of the conversation. It was innocent enough.

They have known each other for a long time, and he sees her as his most trusted friend. She has been an incredible asset with helping him understand his human side and he will be forever grateful for her council. But now…when he looks at her, at her shimmering emerald eyes and her long, flowing hair…he can’t help but see something more in her. Something beyond friendship. Something that causes his heart to stutter and his cock to stir behind its sheath.

Would she ever see him as anything other than an alien? Other than a friend?

He goes to the table in the common room and lays his hands on the surface, tapping his claws irritably, glaring down at his mask as if it is the sole reason for his conundrum. The adjustments he made to it will work, the coordinates to Prime already synched into the ship’s navigation system. All he has to do now is monitor where they are in the galaxy and be on call in case he is needed to take the controls. He could go down into the exercise room, train with the glaive that he prefers to use, but even that does not sound appealing.

No, he is destined to have the little human female occupy his thoughts and torment him with their vulgarity. He growls low in his throat, his mandibles spreading as his purr rumbles in his chest involuntary. Images of her writhing in pleasure below him is etched into his mind and will not leave. Her soft human body, pliable in his paws and her beautiful face in the throes of ecstasy that he brings her is all that he can see when he closes his eyes. His cock hardens at the thought of taking her on the bed, sinking his knot into her cunt and pumping her full of-

Ni’Kotam shakes his head with a frustrated groan. He has got to get under control. He has to be careful with her. She is fragile and in a vulnerable state. He can’t risk hurting her. But this undeniable urge to make her his mate and keep her forever is strong indeed. Does _Paya_ himself have his hand in this? Does the divine have nothing better to do than to torture him with these desires? He has half a mind to go back into his room and tell her how he feels and to accept whatever her response may be. But he doesn’t.

He wants to leave her be. Let her process. He needs a meticulous task to take his mind away. He grabs his mask and heads to the control room.

He needs to think.

-

He is slouching in one of the chairs on the main deck, glaring at the diagnostic reports of the ship. It’s been nearly an hour since he sat down to analyze the damages of the hull and he needs to work on repairing what he can with the supplies he has. The exposed wiring would be his first priority, making the ship safe for Selene to wander freely. Thoughts of his desire for her still linger in his mind, but focusing on the task at hand as at least made his emerging erection relax inside his sheath.

He snaps his head around and stands at the sound of her boots tapping on the metal grates, his dreads whipping around on his shoulders. Selene shuffles into the room, her head down and hugging herself. Her eyes are red and puffy. She has been crying again.

Ni’Kotam goes to her, his purr automatic as he takes her hands into his own. She avoids his searching gave, keeping her eyes down. He chuffs at her, coaxing her to look at him. She does so slowly and she attempts a smile, but he knows it is forced and disingenuous. He will try to remedy that. He tilts his head, clicking to her, “ _G’kaun-yte._ ”

Selene snorts a laugh, a real smile, though faint, forming on her lips, “Hi.” 

He chuffs again and leans down, pressing his much larger forehead against hers, nuzzling her gently in his unique way of affection. She leans into him with a hum and he uses his tusks to tangle in her hair and caress her cheeks. She giggles at him and tries to pull away enough to be out of reach of his mandibles. He lets her, tilting back to look down at her, satisfied with his ministrations to make her smile.

She sighs, squeezing his hands in the way she does when she searches for his comfort. They are so much smaller than his own, “I’m sorry.” He frowns in confusion, watching her shake her head in self-depreciation, “I’ve been an absolute wreck this entire time.”

He rumbles, “ _Ki’sei._ ” 

He does not expect her to be able to handle this quickly, or even at all. She is human, and this is entirely new to her. He would be able to adjust immediately to different scenarios, the benefit of still being a Yautja in spite of his genetic modifications. She is the only human to have ever ventured this far out into her solar system. The weight on her slender shoulders is astronomical. She is responsible for the salvation of her entire species, undertaking a voyage no other human has outside of her solar system, and going to plead her case in front of a vastly superior race. Alone, with just him by her side. Although, seeing as he had altered his DNA and has human genomes in his body, whether he would be a benefit or a detriment to her case remains to be seen.

“I’m okay, for now.” He can tell she wishes to speak more, so he stays silent. “This is just so…” She stops midway with a sharp breath then levels him with her gaze, “I’m having a hard time with this.” Letting go of his hands, his female begins to pace across the deck, “One minute I’m in my bed having a nightmare and the next minute,” She waves her hands around dramatically, “I’m in a fucking space ship flying across the galaxy with my alien boyfriend.” She mutters to herself, her eyes snapping to him quickly before she looks away, a pink tinge coloring her cheeks.

He tilts his head at her odd behavior. He knows this to be a sign of embarrassment, but he doesn’t understand why or what she is saying. Boyfriend? He is unfamiliar with this term. What does it mean? He continues to watch her intently.

She sighs and turns towards him again, “Well,” she says, “We have a whole month together on this ship, right?”

He nods his head with a trill, “ _Sei-i_.”

“Then I guess…can you show me around?” She points in the direction of the common room, “I don’t remember the layout from the last time I was here.” _Yes, because the last time you were here, you were near death_. Ni’Kotam despises thinking of that day, remembering how she looked, broken and limp in his arms. He mentally shakes the image away.

He extends his hand to her, palm up as he clicks, “ _Div’ra._ ”

The blush spreads on her cheeks at his invitation and a sweet smell enters his nose that causes him to start purring again. It is the same scent that she released when he was leaning over her in bed. There is no mistaking it this time. He is sure of it now. It is her arousal. She wants him. Maybe as much as he wants her.

He will have to tread lightly. He has had these thoughts in the past, of courting her, but he doesn’t know how to court a human, so he will go with his instincts. Taking her around the ship, showing her that she is safe with him and he can fulfill all her needs is going to be the first step in his plan to make her his mate.

But first, he leads her back into the common room, grabbing his mask from the terminal desk. He takes her back into his personal chamber and carefully lays his mask on its own stand by the far wall opposite the bed, the eye guards flashing bright. He begins shedding his black armor and laying it on the table, prepping it for maintenance. He is still wounded from earlier, but it has mostly healed. Yautja healing is fast, and Selene did well with patching him up. His armor, however, will need some repairs.

He removes his netting, well aware of her eyes on him and leaves only his leather loincloth over this groin. He turns back to her and puffs his chest out a bit as he catches her biting her plump lower lip, clearly ogling his partially nude form. The interest she shows in him is obvious now that he is paying attention, and he will be taking advantage of that.

He points to himself and then motions to the room. “So this is you room?” she asks. He nods and takes her to the other door tucked into the corner.

Entering the door, he goes to the wall of the smaller room and pushes a button, the deep well in the center beginning to fill with water. He motions to it and rubs up and down his arms. “Oh, this is the washroom?” He nods again and steps up to a spout located above a small table, cupping his hands underneath it. Cool, filtered water instantly flows out into his hands and he takes a drink. He turns to her, “ _Ju’dha._ ”

She grins and bounces on her heels, “Water.”

He rumbles in affirmation, shaking the droplets off his hands. The spout immediately shuts off when he moves his hands away. He then leads her out toward the common room, pointing down the corridors at the other closed doors and then pointing to his own. “Oh, those doors lead to rooms like this one?” she asks, observant as ever. He wants to laugh. The language barrier is hardly between them anymore. That will make this much easier. She still possess her translator, but it seems she has caught on to simple words and phrases.

He clicks, “ _Sei-i_.

He has a passing thought that she would want to stay in another room away from him and he hides his mental panic as she walks back into his chamber. He follows behind her anxiously. Is she getting her belongings to settle elsewhere? He hopes not, he wants her in his room with him.

He clicks his tusks in relief when he sees her unpacking on the bed instead. He steps into the room with her, the door closing behind him with an audible swish. She looks up at his presence, “I’m staying in here with you, if you don’t mind.” Her eyes lower to the ground, sheepish, “I don’t want to be alone.” He nods his head to her when her eyes return to his. This works well for him, he can protect her and satisfy any needs she may require of him.

Ni’Kotam cannot contain the purr that rumbles in his chest, now a frequent occurrence with his female so close to him. He walks up to her, towering a good two feet above her, and put his hands on her arms to stop her from pulling out more items from her bag. She stops immediately and looks up at him. He pulls her hands into his and turns her so that she is facing him. He attempts to say her name in her human tongue, “ _Ssselenne._ ”

Her eyes widen and she says timidly, “Yes?”

He holds both her palms in one of his paws and uses the other to lay it on her shoulder, careful not to put too much weight on her. His taloned thumb rubs against her neck and he can see her shiver, those odd bumps appearing on her flesh. He pulls her to him, his hand tangling in her hair at the nape of her neck, laying her head on his chest. She goes willingly, eagerly, curling into him.

Her hands lay flat on his chest, her fingers delicate against his tough hide as his arm wraps around her tiny waist. She hums in content and he shuts his eyes, embracing his female. The top of her head barely reaches the middle of his pectorals and he has to crane his neck down to hold her against him. A necessary discomfort he bares with Yautja fortitude.

She shudders and he can sense the stress of the situation melting away from her as he continues to purr. That his Yautja purr works on human females as if they were also Yautja was a happy coincidence he discovered long ago when he saved her in that Earth jungle. It was the only thing he could do to comfort her before he was able to get her on his ship for medical treatment.

With her in his arms, he feels…powerful. More than that, it’s difficult for him to explain, to really comprehend the magnitude of which she occupies his every waking thought. He wants her as his mate; he wants her as the mother of his pups, no matter the impossibility of it. His body doesn’t understand that she is human, but he is a primal being, and his feelings for her are borderline feral.

Mating for life is uncommon for his species, but not unheard of. Most encounters are of a singular nature. The male would impress the female enough through his trophies and posturing and if he’s lucky, she would accept him as a sire for her pups and they would mate. That would be it; he would have no part of the female’s life afterward. That’s not what he wants from Selene. Far from it. It may just be his human side interfering, but he wants her with him forever.

He has to tell her, he has to show her. He has never needed anything in his life, but he needs her.

Ni’Kotam pulls her back, still holding her close as he lays his hand on her cheek once more, watching her shining emeralds shimmer with curiosity and hopefulness. Her human face is now a comfort to him, her scent a reminder of their connection. He doesn’t know what to call this emotion. His heart is feeling as if it is skipping beats, his breathing stuttered and his mind going blank of anything intelligent to say, and she is waiting for him to do just that.

Trophies. That is the first thing that pops into his clouded mind. He will show her his trophies. They are still down in the display room. With this being the ship he used for his hunts with his brothers, he has never taken them onto the clanship. He never felt the need to. He is not a recently Blooded Yautja, he has had many battles in the past, but he is quite young compared to most of the other Yautja that were stationed on this ship. Ni’Kotam personally has acquired a serpent’s skull, a _zin’tska’s_ skull, a few others from different worlds she has never heard the names of.

And three human skulls. She will know who they belong to. He hopes that she will be proud that he has them.

His paw slides down her arm to grasp her hand and he trills at her with enthusiasm, “ _Div’ra._ ”

She grins up at him and follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> C’jit - Shit
> 
> G’kaun-yte – Hello
> 
> Ki’sei – I Understand
> 
> Sei-i – Yes
> 
> Div’ra - come


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back baby!! Yes, I've been gone for a while but holidays do that to people. I should be back on my Friday schedule from now on. Here, have this!!

Her heart hammers in her chest as Niko leads her through the halls, steam billowing out of the pipes and red lights twinkling from the multitude of machinery, the air becoming warmer the deeper into the ship they go. He can surely hear it; the pounding of the muscle against her ribs giving away just how nervous she is, how nervous _he_ makes her. He holds her hand tighter in his bigger paw, taking her down steps and around corners, all while she is in a blissful daze and unaware of where he is taking her.

She was still trembling from their intense encounter. The way he had said her name, the way he had held her and looked into her eyes, as if she contained all of the answers to the universe. She had held her breath, waiting for him to move, to act, to say something - _anything_. The silence had been deafening. If he had had lips, she would have taken the initiative and kissed him without hesitating like she has been wanting to do for a while now. Though with his lack of lips, and really much of a mouth structure, she didn’t know how to progress and could only stand there and stare back at him. She could see it in his gaze, those expressive, olive green orbs that she has come to love, that he wanted it too. She guesses there are some things that span across all species of the galaxy. Was he just as nervous and clueless on how to move forward as she was?

Selene _needed_ him to say more. She desperately wanted him to pick her up and carry her to the bed. She would have wrapped her legs around his waist as he lay her down and simply _ravished_ her. Though she knows nothing is ever _simple_ when it comes to Niko. She suspects he has the right parts for them to be compatible, even though she has never seen his genitalia. Just the thought makes her blush, her cheeks tinting red. Seeing him shred his armor, his smooth scales and tough hide, bulging muscles and thick thighs…her breath catches at the image now burned into her brain. He has such power inside of him, such strength, but he is so sweet and gentle with her despite his intimidating physique. As silly as it sounds, she feels special, like the beautiful maiden in one of those sappy TV romances that she would usually roll her eyes at, but really, secretly crave.

He stops in front of large, rust colored double doors and keys in a passcode into the numerals on the lock. She leans her cheek against his warm hide as he types and he pulls her closer to him with a rumbling purr. The door lets out a mechanical hiss and slides open, revealing a large, empty room. A blast of hot air hits her face as she notices a dense fog covering the floor, licking up the sides of the hull. He leads her inside and strides up to the far wall, letting go of her hand, much to her playful protests. He turns around to look at her, standing up straight and puffing his chest out. She smiles at him, wondering what has him so excited, “What’s this?” She asks.

Niko clicks his tusks and pushes a button, and hidden shutters on the wall rise, revealing a trophy display full of bright, white lights and shiny skulls. Her eyes widen. She is taken aback by how many there are, the case at least four meters in length along the wall. Sections of the wall are labeled all with red lettering under each display, all of which she can’t read, at least not yet. He points to the far left one and then to himself.

“Oh,” She realizes, “these are yours?” He nods his head and waves his arm to them expectantly. All were his. She does not miss the air of pure eagerness that rolls off of him, causing her to giggle at his enthusiasm.

Not wanting to insult him, she takes a step up to the display and examines each skull closely, her brows narrowing in concentration. One was very long, with a frightening face and a wicked set of teeth that looked surprisingly human, besides the long canines on each end. Another one was broader, with intricate ridges and patterns parallel to its mouth, or what she assumes is a mouth. She can’t really tell. There are two others that she can’t even begin to describe, all equally terrifying and monstrous. She swallows audibly with a sick realization. All of these skulls came from _real_ creatures in the galaxy, creatures that no human has ever laid their eyes on. _Thank god for that_ , she thinks. No way would anyone be able to handle this. Selene is _barely_ able to comprehend it herself.

Humanity really _wasn’t_ the only species in the universe. She snorts to herself with a shake of her head. Again, NASA would so jealous.

She looks over at him, seeing him standing anxiously waiting for her reaction, “This is quite a collection, Niko.” He lets out a flurry of clicks as his eyes light up, “I never thought I would see them up close like this.” He growls happily, mandibles flaring as he flexes his claws, holding his head up high as Selene sniggers at his antics. He has discussed with her before about the ways of his culture and how they hunt big game for sport and claim their skulls as a prize. She was never a hunter on Earth and didn’t really like guns or violence in general, but she knows this is important to him, so she humors his attempts to impress her.

Turning back to the case, her eyes wander over each individual skull, polished and as pristine as marble. She inadvertently spots three familiar shapes right in the center of the display and she hides her instinctive reaction to be horrified.

Human skulls. Three of them.

She isn’t naive enough to think that Niko hasn’t hunted humans. Hell, he hunted down the people that kidnapped and tortured her so it’s no surprise that he may have been to Earth previously and taken more.

But there is something about these three that is a little too familiar.

She looks closer at the one in the middle, something shining brightly on two of its teeth.

Gold. Two gold canine teeth.

Her eyes widen into saucers as her heart falls into her churning stomach. She knows whose skull this is.

_The sharp sting of the slap still pulses on her skin, the flesh of her cheek red and abused. She coughs up more blood, the crimson liquid mixing with her saliva and oozing from her mouth onto the dirty floor. She is unable to get up from the chair, restrained by her wrists and ankles with dingy ropes, tethered to the wooden support beams. Tears pour down her face and she watches with squinted eyes as the native men talk amongst themselves a few yards away from her._

_She tries, weakly, to move, to break the binds, to do anything, but the intense burn from the woven threads digging into her skin keeps her from struggling too much, the ache excruciating. One of them looks over at her whimpers of pain and flashes her a sadistic smile, filled with malice and ill intent. Her body fills with fear, a cry escaping her lips. The blinding sunlight descending from the broken ceiling reflects off of something glossy inside his mouth._

_The tall man with the shiny teeth marches over to her and she renews her fight to break free, but he grabs her face roughly, digging his blunt fingers into her cheeks and forcing her to look at him. His breath is rancid as he speaks in his native tongue, then turns her away from him and licks up her cheek. She cries out a broken sob at the slimy touch, her stomach rolling and feeling as if she will be sick. He laughs in her face, and then releases her, letting her head fall to her chest. She shuts her eyes tight as more tears are shed and she listens to his footfalls become quieter. She can do nothing as she once again, falls unconscious._

She gasps, her hands flying to cover her mouth as a tear escapes her eye. She takes a few steps back, her heart racing and she starts shaking uncontrollably, the evocation of that day flooding back and overtaking her mind. Her wrists start to burn and her ears begin ringing. She can’t speak, she can’t _breathe_. She can’t even feel the humidity permeating the room. All she can do is stare, motionless, her eyes watering with the overwhelming sense of dread as she is thrown violently, back into her memories.

She doesn’t notice Niko striding over to her, concern written on his face, but she is unable to look away from the skulls that belong to the men that ruined her life. Her alien friend leans down, taking her hands from in front of her face into his own, his loud purr emanating from his chest trying to help her relax. She takes a few deep breaths, trying her hardest to regain control of her emotions. She wasn’t expecting to see the remnants of her past like this. She wanted the memories dead and lost. She has been trying to move on with her life, to forget the _horrible_ events that led her to become an isolated, broken woman, but something always has to push her back into that day, whether that be from her therapist or her dreams. And now, now she is face to face with the bones that once housed the most evil creatures she has ever encountered.

Selene’s eyes shoot to Niko’s when he trills at her to get her attention, his quilled brows narrowed in a frown. She doesn’t blame him for this. It’s not his fault. He takes pride in the fact that he killed those men and rescued her. If not for him, she surely would be dead, or worse. But seeing the evidence of what is supposed to just be a bad dream, along with everything else that has happened in her life, she can’t _handle_ it. She has _tried_ to be strong, _tried_ to keep it together. But she just _can’t_ anymore.

She completely breaks down. Falling forward, unable to hold herself up, she collapses on him and sobs into his chest. Her walls that she built up to keep herself from falling come tumbling down and her inner flesh is laid bare, raw and inflamed, the exposed nerves of her frail emotions throbbing and _painful_. She holds onto him for dear life, clutching at his bare hide as he wraps his arms around her immediately, crushing her against him and letting her cry. In the back of her mind, she is sure that he has never had to deal with a sobbing woman before, but his purr and his warmth are a beacon of hope to her, and she tries to concentrate on his efforts to comfort her.

She tries to regain her composure, and she just barely succeeds. Selene remains leaning on him, unwilling to leave his soothing embrace. Not that he minds, she thinks. She takes a few shaky breaths and leans back slightly to look up at him. His mandibles are flittering and his eyes flick back and forth between hers. She was right. He is at a loss of what to do. She wants to laugh at how preposterous it is for a creature so fierce and intelligent to be so confused, but she just sniffs and apologizes to him for what seems like the hundredth time, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting to see…” She looks back down, trailing off, and doesn’t finish the sentence, but he knows what she means, nodding his head slowly in understanding.

Niko’s purr rumbles louder and he says something she doesn’t understand. She lifts her bloodshot eyes to look at him and croaks out, “What?” He inclines his head towards the doors with a series of clicks and she glances back, realizing he is asking her if she wants to leave. She turns back to him sheepishly, “Yeah. Please.” He releases his hold on her and grabs her hand, gently leading her out of the trophy room, but not before closing the display shutters.

Selene takes one final look at the human skulls as the metal comes down to shield them from her view.

She goes with him willingly, though her legs are a bit wobbly as her knees buckle from the phantom pain still coursing through her veins. He takes her back into the common room, sitting her down on a chair clearly too big for her at the long, metal table. He takes a seat next to her, continuing to hold her hand in his large paw, his black talons gently tracing her skin. She looks down at their entwined hands, so different from each other. She has gotten used to them, finding them more of a comfort than any human hand would. She turns her hand over to fully grasp his and bring her other hand to lay on top. He does the same, moving closer to her and pressing his forehead against hers, a sweet scent entering her nose that always soothes her anxiety.

Selene is a little embarrassed, having broken down like that. She is on an impossible journey to save humanity, and one little skull sends her into a panic induced nightmare. She _knew_ this was going to be difficult, and she has been mentally trying to cope with everything else, but seeing those…things, had completely blindsided her.

Now that she has calmed down and is holding onto him, the anchor that he is, she can let her memory resurface, of that day that changed her life forever. She remembers most of it, though her escape is still a little hazy. She remembers the smoke, the screaming, and the gunfire. _Horrific_ does not even begin to describe it. Her heart _aches_ as she reluctantly remembers her mother’s face as it twisted in agony, her father’s furious yells and threats to bring hell on earth for hurting his family. When Niko rescued her, she was too upset, more like hysterical, to even try and talk about it. She was also just a bit more distracted by how an _alien_ found her in the jungle and carried her to safety. Her knight in shining armor, as it were.

Maybe…maybe talking about it will help. Dr. Shelby always did try and get her to open up, but she refused, unwilling to relive the memories. But perhaps letting it all out to Niko, who was actually there and could put the pieces together with a clear vision, can she finally learn to move on and let go. If only to not jump at every noise and hide from every confrontation, because with the journey ahead, there will be an astronomical amount of fights and challenges that she _cannot_ run away from.

Her voice is quiet when she breaks the silence, “I never told you…what happened the day you found me.” He nods his head solemnly, his dreads falling off his shoulder to lay on his chest but he does not take his eyes off of her, “I just…didn’t want to face it.” She continues to look down, examining his paws more closely, noting the different shades of yellow and patterns of black spots dotting his long fingers.

He tilts his head in that cute way he expresses confusion, his top mandibles flicking. She huffs, using her shoulder to wipe away another tear falling down her cheek and gathers her courage, “I think…I’m ready to tell you.” Her emerald eyes look up to his olive ones, piercing and attentive, “I’m ready to tell you what happened.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING PLEASE READ: this chapter contains scenes of kidnapping, violence, torture, gore, murder, attempted rape, and rape without penis in vagina insertion. If any of these subject matters bother you but you would like to know what happened, please either comment or message me over on tumblr and I will tell you. If i need to add other tags, please let me know.
> 
> PSA: This is set in Venezuela and I am by no means saying that the people of Venezuela or any Spanish speaking people are like this. This is for fictional purposes only.
> 
> Last PSA: Checking a person's hymen is not an accurate way to tell if a person is a virgin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I apologize for this chapter being so late. I am currently going through some mental health problems associated with the stress of my job. I am looking to move down to part time work or taking time off. Not only to better myself, but to write more because this is my true passion and I absolutely love writing for myself and all of you. You guys are so awesome and give me such inspiration and I truly appreciate every single one of you :) okay, on to the show!

"Selene Whitmore" />

**Two Years Prior**

Taking a deep, calming breath, Selene lets the warm, salty air drift over her tongue and flow down into her lungs, the briny wind wafting from the ocean below a calming flavor in her mouth. Chatty seagulls tweeted and cooed above her, circling the decks and scouring for discarded morsels left over by the many guests on the enormous ship. The rising sun casts a rainbow of colors throughout the morning sky, reflecting off the lapping water and creating an ethereal glow around the bilge of the vessel.

She always loved the water, the ocean in particular. The fathomless depths of the unknown one of life’s greatest mysteries, and one of her many fascinations. The vastness of the sea, along with the empty void of space that lines the horizon, two sides of the same vacant coin, ripe with new discoveries to be had. She can’t reach the boundaries of the stars, but she can at least travel along the surface, skirting the edge between the life writhing inside the oceans below her, and the twinkling of lights promising of life above her. A philosopher, an explorer, she is not, but it doesn’t stop her from dreaming.

A Caribbean cruise was not on her schedule a few weeks ago when her parents surprised her with the tickets after her graduation. She thought she would be applying for hospital jobs after receiving her nursing degree. She wasn’t exactly looking forward to the long shifts and rude patients that she encountered during her years in school, but she loved to help people, and knowing that she could give back to the community and hopefully make a difference in someone’s life, it would all be worth it. Selene had a big heart, maybe a bit too big. Her friends, if she could call them that, always called her naive and gullible, too willing to trust others, even strangers. From her perspective, she wanted to believe that people were honest in general and always had the best of intentions. Growing up a bit sheltered does that to a person.

She smiles to herself as she remembers how her parents had presented her graduation gift to her. Her mother could barely contain herself.

_Walking with her class was the hardest part of graduating college. Selene was not one for fancy celebrations or large gatherings of people, but her parents had insisted. She would have rather had the thing mailed to her and skip the ceremony all together, but there was no getting out it._

_“Selene, honey, you will never get a chance like this again!” Her mother had exclaimed, “This is the only time you will get to do this and we don’t want you missing out on anything!” Her father, a tall, imposing man with thick glasses and nearly black hair, had nodded his head absentmindedly, always agreeing with his wife no matter how eccentric she was being. Though he was a man of few words, he loved his family and doted on them any chance he could get. Selene knew he was proud of her without him needing to say a thing._

_The young woman had huffed in annoyance as her mother adjusted her black graduation robe around her, pulling it tighter around her shoulders and fussing too much for Selene’s patience, “Mom, you just want to take pictures and embarrass me.”_

_She looked her dead in the eyes, “Hey, I went through sixteen hours of labor to bring you into this world, so let me have this.” Selene tried to hide the smile, but she lost the battle and grinned with a snort, unable to hold back the laughter at her mother’s ridiculous attitude toward her own graduation. So, she did as she was told, sitting with a bunch of people she doesn’t really care about, pretending to listen to speeches she wasn’t really listening to, and hoping that the whole ordeal would be over soon, all the while smiling like an idiot as her mother took pictures from the stands._

_Once the alumni had finished their posturing and caps were thrown to god knows where, Selene was eager to run out of that giant auditorium and get some fresh air. Crowded spaces were not her favorite places to be. Too many people always made her nervous. Which was ironic, knowing that she had chosen a profession that would require her to deal with vast amounts of the population._

_Just as soon as she finished catching her breath from the pressure in her chest, a white envelope was shoved into her hands. She looked it over, turning it this way and that while watching her mother bounced on the balls of her feet, “What’s this?” She asked._

_“Open it!”_

_Selene ripped at the paper and unfolded the letter inside. She looked up to her parents, her jaw hanging open in shock._

_“Congratulations!”_

_She couldn’t believe it! She didn’t know what to say. Three tickets to a Caribbean cruise! She had always wanted to go, having seen videos and pictures of how beautiful it is down there, the water so clear she could see straight to the bottom of the sea. She wasn’t exactly the most popular person in school and didn’t have any close friends, so she never thought she would make the trip by herself, but mom and dad want to go with her! She finally had the chance to take the trip of a lifetime!_

She can’t help the grin that spreads across her lips at the memory. It might seem strange to some people but she has always been very close to both her parents. Being an only child has its benefits. She wouldn’t say that she was spoiled, but she understood that she had a better upbringing than most, her family only having to worry about her than a number of different siblings. Her parents had difficulty conceiving and when Selene was born, there were complications and her mother was no longer able to have children. Her mother called her “her miracle baby.” Selene doesn’t think she is much of a miracle, having worked hard for a lot of the things she has in her life, but she doesn’t go a day without being thankful that she is alive.

Selene looks out further over the balcony of her suite, her eyes scanning down the side of the ship towards the beaches. They had docked at Margarita Island in Venezuela not that long ago, and to be honest, Selene can’t wait to get her feet on dry land. The captain had warned about straying too far from the port and that most of the tourist activities were closed for the day. The country has been going through a bit of a rough time, so she and her family will stay well away from any suspicious people. Not that she’s concerned. She is more interested laying out on the beach and reading her favorite book. Maybe even taking a nap, lulled to sleep by listening to the waves as they crash onto the shore? Absolute heaven.

A knock at her door startles her out of her thoughts as she turns around and sees her mother entering her room. She is dressed in her daisy spotted sun dress with the most absurdly big hat Selene has ever seen. She has to stifle the giggles at her mother’s expense when she closes the balcony door behind her, entering the air conditioned room.

Hands on her hips, the older woman narrows her brown eyes in Selene’s direction, “Now just what are _you_ laughing at?”

Selene gives her a deadpan look, “That hat. Looks. Ridiculous.”

She straightens the large brims that are flopping over to cover her face, “Humpf, you won’t be laughing when you get a nasty sun burn.” She goes to the mirror sitting on the dresser and adjusts the uncooperative flaps, “Weather says it’s gunna be hot this week. Heat wave rolling through.”

The young brunette sighs, “Great.” Selene grabs her backpack that she stored her sunscreen, books and money in, hoisting it over her shoulder. She was never one to like the heat all that much, but she won’t complain, especially in the presence of someone who lives for the beach. Besides, maybe getting a tan wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Her usual porcelain skin could use some vacation color.

Her mom chuckles, “Come on, kiddo.” She swings her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and squeezes her against her side, smacking a kiss to her temple which causes Selene to try and squirm away, “Dad’s waiting upstairs.”

-

“Hey there.”

Selene jerks out of her seat with a yelp, her sunglasses sliding of her face and her arms flailing trying to catch the book she had been reading that jumped out of her hands. The romance novel that she had been eagerly absorbing lands cover first in the sand, the pages now bent at a weird angle. She huffs, _Damn it! I’ll never be able to find that page, who the hell…?_

She glares in the direction of the person who startled her, only seeing a pair of hands held up as a low, southern accented voice exclaims, “Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare ya.”

She squints towards the bright, midafternoon sun at the intruder while retrieving her fallen glasses from her lap, trying to put them on without poking herself in the eye. Once she is able to see without being blinded, her tongue immediately freezes inside her mouth. The most _gorgeous_ guy she has ever seen is standing right next to her, with short, fluffy brown hair, chiseled tan abs that seem to glow with water droplets cascading down the muscles and a striking smile with perfect white teeth that makes her swoon. He is wearing blue swim trunks and has a necklace with a leather cord and a strange symbol around his neck and a pair of black, expensive looking Oakley’s pushed up into his hair. He is the _epitome_ of male beauty in Selene’s eyes.

The young woman chuckles awkwardly, brushing loose, brunette strands away from her face and behind her ear, “N-no, it’s fine.” She sits up straighter in her chair, trying to not look flustered as she smooths out the cover up she is wearing over her pink polka dot bikini. She turns her body towards him, attempting a smile that doesn’t make her look like a dork, “Can I help you?”

He laughs, a little breathless, and she feels her cheeks heating up at the sound, “Sorry, I uh, I’m Thomas.”

‘Thomas’ holds his hand out for her to take it. She does so, feeling the rough callouses on his palm and shaking his hand in a friendly greeting, “Selene.” She answers hesitantly. _Why in the world is this guy talking to **me?**_

The young man looks down shyly and she watches him kick at the white sand and put his hands in his pockets, “I don’t mean to interrupt you, but I was just uh, I saw you at the pool yesterday. On board?” Oh, he’s a passenger? That’s strange, she hasn’t seen him around, but that’s probably because she has been too preoccupied with exploring the ship and relaxing rather than meeting any guy or hooking up with anyone on this trip. She is with her parents after all, that would just be _weird_.

She catches his eyes and they are a striking silvery blue, she can’t help but be a bit mesmerized by them, “I couldn’t help but notice that,” He clears his throat, “That you’re very pretty.”

_Wow. Okay._ She ducks her head, a large, goofy grin trying to etch onto her face, but she bites the inside of her cheeks to keep it bay, “T-thank you.” She stutters. She isn’t used to such attentions from boys. Being an introvert, she never really got around to dating much in high school or in college. A few boyfriends here and there, but nothing too serious. She was too preoccupied with her studies to really pay any attention. Plus, she didn’t think she was _that_ pretty, but she would take a compliment from a handsome guy like this ‘Thomas’.

“You here with your folks?” He asks conversationally.

“Yeah,” she nods her head, feeling much more comfortable knowing that he is also just a guest here and not one of the locals, “For a graduation present.”

“Oh, that’s cool.” He uses a thumb to indicate behind him, “I’m here with my brothers and my dad.” He gets quiet for a moment, and Selene tilts her head, about to ask what’s wrong when he says softly, “My mom died a few years ago and we go on vacation on the anniversary of her death.” He takes a deep breath then lets it out, “To celebrate her life, ya know?”

“I’m so sorry.” Selene can’t help but grimace at his confession. She can’t imagine what it must be like to lose a parent, and hopefully, she won’t have to worry about that for a long time, “That’s wonderful you guys still honor her like that.”

“Yeah.” An obstinate silence settles over them, only the sounds of children running through the waves and music blaring from the open bars further up the beach filling in the gaps. He coughs awkwardly, “Hey, listen.” He scrunches his face up as if in pain, briefly looking over his shoulder before returning to her, “I was just wondering if, maybe you and your family wouldn’t mind joining me and mine?” He wrings his hands nervously, flicking his eyes back and forth between hers and the ground, “We have a reservation to take one of the National Park tours and I would love for you to join us.”

_Wow, again._ Those are expensive and have to be booked way in advance! But, she did remember an announcement earlier that day about warning passengers not to go off the reservation. She narrows her eyes in confusion, “I thought the captain said there were no tours today?” 

He nods his head a little too enthusiastically, his bouncy hair flopping around his forehead, “Right, there were no tours _available_ today, because they were all booked.”

“Oh,” Well, that seems reasonable, “I guess that makes sense.”

“So, will you come?”

Well, why the hell not? This guy seems harmless enough, and a free National Park tour? How could she pass that up? Besides, he sounds like he is from the US, not to mention the fact that he is drop dead gorgeous and flirting with _her_ of all people. “Uh, yeah!” She starts to rise out of her sunken beach chair, “I’ll go ask my parents, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He moves closer to her and grabs her around the arm to help her up. She has to crane her neck a bit to look up at him. Boy, he is tall, much taller than her five foot three petite frame. She swallows nervously with a mumbled “thanks” as he lets go of her bicep.

“Great!” He claps his hands together, “I’ll meet you by the Tour Shack at seven?”

She cocks her head to the side, “Wait, at seven? That seems pretty late for tours hours, it’ll be getting dark by then.”

“Oh yeah! It’s awesome!” He beams, nearly jumping up and down in his excitement, “We scheduled the last one. We get to see the stars and the mountains when its dark out, everything glows and it’s much more beautiful.”

She doesn’t have time to ponder the inkling of doubt and suspicion that wedges its way into head, her mind already made up that no matter what, she has _got_ to spend more time with this guy. He seems so perfect, maybe she can get his number when they get back on the ship after the tour? Start a long-distance romance like the characters in her novels? _Come on, Selene. You’re getting ahead of yourself_. “Well, okay!” She laughs, “That sounds great!”

“Alright! See you then!”

“Bye!” She winces at the squeak laced in her voice, waving as he turns around.

Selene watches him jog down the beach toward a gathering of a few people, pointing in her direction and smiling when he reaches them. They wave in her direction politely and she returns the gesture. There were three older gentlemen with him, those must be his brothers and his dad! So he is telling the truth. She breathes a sigh of relief. For a moment there, she was beginning to question if maybe this guy was just messing with some poor, defenseless girl alone on the beach. It wouldn’t be the first time a guy has humiliated her like that.

Pushing those thoughts out of her head, she picks up her chair, shaking off the sand and gathers her belongings, stuffing them into her backpack. Once she’s collected all her things, she sprints over to the outside bar where her parents told her they would be, most likely having a few too many drinks. At least she knows her mom would be. The woman could never hold her liquor that well, not matter how many times she denies it.

She spots them deep in conversation and decides to sneak around the booth to where they can’t see her and listens to the last bit of the discussion, “Jeff, I can’t believe our little girl is all grown up.” Selene smiles softly at the worried tone, “She’ll be getting a job soon, a career. I don’t know if I can handle it.”

“It’ll be fine, Ali.” The deep baritone of her father says, “She’s smart. She’ll figure it out.”

Not wanting to eavesdrop any longer and feeling guilty for having done so, she darts around the corner, “Hey guys!” She says cheerfully.

Both her parents turn to her with big smiles, “What’s up kiddo?” Her mom asks while stirring the fresh margarita in her hand, “Thought you were lounging today.”

Selene plops herself on the other side of the booth, laying her pack on the seat and leaning her chair against the table, “I was, but guess what! I met a guy,” She sees out of the corner of her eye how her dad shifts uncomfortably, but she ignores it. She’s an adult and he needs to get used to the idea of her dating, “He is really cute and so nice.”

“That’s great, honey!” Her mom places the straw in her mouth and takes a big sip of her drink. She is still wearing that ridiculous hat.

“Aaand,” Selene draws out, “He’s invited us to go with his family on a free tour through the National Park!” She wants to laugh out loud at how they both rear their heads back in unison at her proclamation, “It’s cool.” She assures them, “They’re tourists from the cruise, like us.”

Her parents look at each other skeptically, her dad speaking up first, “Really? He just, offered it to you?”

“Yeah!” She cheers. What’s the big deal? He was just being nice.

Her mother sets down her drink, now watching Selene intently, “And you’re sure he’s a passenger?”

“Definitely. He mentioned that he saw me at the pool yesterday.” Which is a bit strange, she does admit, with the way he looks she should have spotted him really easily, “If he was a local, how could he have seen me? We weren’t even docked.” She can see that they want to say no, but she will not let this opportunity slip through her fingers, “Please? It’s free. Did I mention free?”

Her father chuckles, wrapping his arm around his blushing wife, “Alright alright, we believe you. Sounds wonderful.”

“Great! Tour’s at seven!” She wiggles happily in her seat, beaming at her loving parents, absolute joy blossoming in her chest. She’ll have to be sure to bring her phone so she can take pictures. This will be the best trip of their lives and she wants to remember it forever!

-

“Honey, are you sure this is where he said to be?” 

“Yeah. He said the Tour Shack at seven.” They arrived at the destination that Thomas had told her, but there were no vehicles outside the little building. It was getting darker by the minute and she has to use her phone’s flashlight to see anything. The building itself looked empty, there were no lights on, and there was a big sign on the door that read “Tours Closed.” Weird, he said that they booked the last one. Maybe her phone hadn’t readjusted time zones and they were too late? Her chest tightens at the thought. She hopes she didn’t screw this up.

She shines her light over her surroundings, seeing nothing but shrubs and trees. Finally, she spots a figure pacing on the other side of the structure and she recognizes the floppy hair of Thomas. Her anxiety ebbs and relief washes over her. Good, they hadn’t left yet! She yells for him excitedly, “Thomas!”

He turns at the sound of her call and she notices he is talking on his own phone but puts it away when he sees her. He gives her a big smile and waves her over. He is still in his blue swim trunks but he has put on a blank white t-shirt and a pair of tennis shoes.

“Guys, I found him!” She shouts back to her parents, pointing in his direction, “Over here!”

Selene doesn’t wait for them as she jogs through the sand now turned dirt, kicking up dust as she goes. He meets her half way, enveloping her in a surprising hug, one she gladly accepts and returns, “Hey you made it!”

“Yeah!” She lets go of him and pulls back, beaming up at him, “We were worried that you had left without us.” She looks around at the seemingly abandoned road. There weren’t any tiki torches or street lamps illuminating the way, and the light from the bars down by the beach have faded. But, there aren’t any vehicles in the vicinity either. She tilts her head, “Where are the Jeeps?”

“Oh, it’s just up this way.” He indicates behind him, “Follow me.”

She eagerly strides up next to him, nervousness fluttering in her stomach. She’s never been the best flirt, she doesn’t know how to approach a guy like this! Once they get inside the car, and hopefully there are two of them, one for her and Thomas and one for her parents, then maybe he will make his move! She calms herself with a deep breath.

Once they clear the hill, Thomas abrudlty stops, and Selene nearly crashes into him. She rights herself and looks up to him, “What’s wrong?”

He turns around to face her and his expression turns her heart ice cold.

“You dumb bitch.”

“Wha…” She barely has time to comprehend what he has said before she hears a high-pitched scream, “Selene!”

She whips her head around at the call of her name, only to watch in horror as both her parents are tackled to the ground by the same men that she saw on the beach with Thomas, the attackers springing from the trees that line the trail. The men tie their hands behind their backs and jerk them to their knees, gagging them in the process, their eyes wide and fixed on her. _What is happening?!_

The frightened woman attempts to run down to them, to try and do _something_ , but Thomas grabs her by the arms and pulls her back violently into his chest, his blunt nails digging into her biceps painfully, a stark contrast to how he had held her earlier.

She screams, struggling against his grip, “What are you doing!?”

He whispers in her ear and her stomach lurches at the malice in his voice, “It was just too easy.”

Tears begin streaming down her face as she continues to try and break free only to stop dead in her tracks when one of the men holding down her family strides over to her and removes a pistol from inside his jacket. She is frozen in place as the man, who up close, now definitely looks like a local, smiles down at her. He is wearing black cargo pants and a tight fitted black t-shirt, a machete attached to his belt. The contents of her stomach threaten to expel as he stares down at her and she has a sickening realization. This was a trap. She and her family were _led_ out here, out of the way of all the guests and security.

It’s all her fault.

The last thing she remembers is the pain of when the grip of the pistol smashes into her face, malicious and evil laughter echoing in her ears.

-

Swimming through the obscurity of her empty dreams, she is awoken from the throbbing inside her head, wincing at the pulsing pain. Disoriented and woozy, she attempts to open her eyes. The room is dark, she can’t see much past the blurriness that has infected her vision with its haziness. She holds in the urge to be sick as she lets her squinted gaze fall on the few torches along the wooden walls, a couple of light fixtures on tables littered with what looks like weapons. The ceiling is patched, holes dotting the interior and only one open door that she can see leading to the outside, the night sky dull and lifeless.

_Not a dream. A nightmare._

Moving her limbs is not an option, tight ropes bound her wrists behind a sturdy wooden beam. She is rooted to a rickety chair, her legs tied at the ankles, rendering her immobile. She hangs her head, trying to fight back the nausea that continues to plague her, blood dripping from her broken nose, her mother and father nowhere in sight. She lets out a quite sob.

_This can’t be happening…this is all my fault…_

She jumps with a sharp inhale when loud bangs and heavy footfalls resound behind her. Men speaking with heavy accents, barking orders in Spanish and some in broken English. She doesn’t recognize any of the voices. She tenses her muscles, expecting the worst, for any one of them to come around the side of her vision and begin whatever it is they have in store for her, but what follows will be branded with a searing hot iron into her memory forever.

She grits her teeth and cries as she hears the desperate screams of her mother, her father shouting and cursing at their assailants. Selene has a flash of relief enter her body. They’re alive, and just behind her, but she is too disoriented to try and crane her neck to look back at them. She wants to yell, to call for them, but her voice doesn’t push through her throat, stuck behind her tongue and frozen in her chest.

The shouts and screams become louder, deafening. The commotion escalates at a rapid pace. She can hear the slapping of skin and the scooting of wood on wood, but barely over the grunts and growls of men wrestling and tearing into each other. She finds her strength when her mother calls for her husband, pleading with those around her to let them go, to at _least_ let their daughter go.

A gunshot rings out. Selene finally loses the battle with her body, and heaves onto the dirty floor.

A high-pitched wail pierces her ears unlike anything she has ever heard and she stops breathing, continuing to empty the contents of her stomach. She can’t hear her father anymore.

She squeezes her eyes shut as her mother shrieks for her. Her name, Selene, being repeated over and over again, a mantra to continue to haunt this waking nightmare. Her mother’s cries become distant, far away, as if drifting across the ocean and over the horizon, until all is calm once again with the echo of a door slamming shut.

She closes her eyes, wishing, hoping, _praying_ that she will wake up.

But she doesn’t.

They come to her. These creatures that contain no humanity, no mercy. They beat her across the face, smash their fists into her jaw, burn her with their cigars, break her ribs and tear at her flesh with knives, all while laughing and enjoying seeing her cry out in unimaginable pain. Eventually, she stops feeling all together, the physical agony rolling into one massive cavern of despair and hopelessness.

One of them grabs at her shirt and yanks her forward, the muscles in her arms burning in protest from the strain. Her stomach rolls once more at his sickening breath as he sneers in her face. He reaches behind him and pulls out a switchblade, unsheathing the dagger. He cuts at the ropes holding her to the beam and throws her onto the dirt ground.

She flails as she struggles to crawl away, her wrists and ankles still bound. All the breath is knocked out of her when a heavy weight lands on her back, her head bouncing off the floor. She yelps as her clothes are torn to shreds, leaving her bare, shivering, and humiliated. To her absolute _horror_ , he turns her over and inspects her body, rough hands grabbing at her modest breasts and crudely palming his way down her skin. She feels dirty and impure. He reaches her center and she desperately holds her thighs together, but he pulls them apart easily, nearly twisting her ankles in the process.

A dry finger is inserted into her most private areas and she shrieks at the painful intrusion, endless tears leaving trails down her dirty cheeks. She closes her eyes tightly, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. He wiggles the digit around inside her body, scratching at the muscles.

The man laughs, excited at what he has found, and informs the others of his prize. She hears a zipper.

_No, no, noo._

She tries to kick out with her bound feet, use her shoulders to dislodge him, but he doesn’t budge. She watches helplessly as he undoes his fly and pulls out an erection. She begs through the sobs, “Please, p-please no!”

Before he can grab her again to steady her, his head explodes, and she lets out an ear-splitting cry. Warm, sticky blood sprays all over naked skin, covering her from head to thighs. His lifeless body falls on her, the remainder of his brain falling out onto her breasts. She coughs violently and turns her head to the floor, vomiting up bile as there is nothing left in her.

The dead man is lifted off her, another kneeling down and inspecting her womanhood for himself, smearing the blood along the inside of her legs. His finger is harsh as it probes her, and when he finds resistance, he stops and snatches his hand away. At his sickening smile, both of his canine teeth painted gold, he says to her, “Good girl.”

They strap her to the chair after the death of their friend, naked and battered. They keep her there, periodically coming back to check on their merchandise, as they put it. Her stomach constricts with the lack of food and her mouth dries out from thirst. She begs them for mercy, begs for reprieve, but they ignore her, only making the beatings worse.

She drifts in and out of consciousness after that incident, but they do not attempt to take her again, her virginity having saved her from that form of torment, though that does not stop them from using her body in other ways. Time doesn’t seem to pass normally. Days could have gone by, weeks, months. It was all frivolous anyway. Nothing mattered anymore. She is alone here, in this dirty shack, covered in scars and blood, surrounded by the wolves that tease their prey before pouncing and ripping her apart.

At some point, she doesn’t know when or how long, she is left with her head hanging and blood a constant drip from her busted lip. She hasn’t received any thrashings in a while and she watches the men at the open door through swollen, bloodshot eyes, paying special attention to the one with the gold teeth. He is particularly cruel. They are chatting amongst themselves, but she doesn’t really care about what. Until he comes over and grabs her roughly by the cheeks, making her flinch and jerking her head up to face him, speaking to her in broken English, “You will make a pretty price, yes?” He releases her and moves behind her to untie her ropes, but before he can, the others shout for his attention. The men leave the building, and Selene hears gunshots outside, more yelling, more noise. It sounds like a warzone.

This is her chance.

She grimaces as she tests the ropes, and they give. _Finally_. He must have loosed them before he left. She jerks harder, the threads becoming undone and falling to the floor. She quickly unties her feet and jumps up, but falls immediately, her legs not having been in use for a long time, some her toes broken from when they smashed them with their steel toed boots. She crawls to the opening of the building she has been imprisoned, the sun blinding in her eyes.

Seeing no one, the adrenaline kicking in, she gets to her feet, and runs.

Muscles burning, aching, lungs gasping desperately for air, wounded eyes too clouded from salty tears to see, how to move through the trees and vines and shrubs. What little sunlight that seeps through the dense canopies beats down on her sweaty face, her skin scorching in the heat, as if to liquefy at any moment. Her feet bare on the muddied ground, jagged rocks and sharp branches slicing into her flesh like shards of glass, leaving trails of bright red markers for the monsters to track. She tries to take in more air for her sore lungs, but with her broken ribs, the snapped bones stab into her muscles, intense, throbbing pain circuiting through her body like electricity.

She stumbles on a log, catching her foot and causing her to tumble down through the fallen leaves and collide through the thick brush, unable to see past the visions of her dying parents. The agony of her broken appendages shoots up her legs and she wails. She is too weak to move, too exhausted both physically and in her heart, no longer holding onto the will to keep running. Lying there, naked and defeated, and with nowhere to go, she curls up in on herself and she cries.

Twigs snap behind her, but she just doesn’t have the strength to care and she sobs harder into her bloodied hands. _Just kill me._

She takes a last stuttering breath before darkness surrounds her in a warm, comforting embrace, a strange clicking the last sound she hears…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated doing that to her, it really broke my heart. I originally wasn't going to have any sexual abuse, but with human traffickers, it's a realistic scenario. I'm so sorry Selene, Niko will make it better :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to elven_prophecy for help with this one!

“…And you know the rest.” She finishes quietly, sniffling and using her shoulder to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. His ebony claws are running up and down her arm, trying to soothe her subtle trembling. His piercing, olive eyes watch as she picks at her blunt nails, a nervous tick he has noticed she does when uncomfortable and he squeezes her against him.

Ni’Kotam had coaxed her to come and sit on his leg as she dove deeper into her memories, wrapping his firm arms around her tiny waist as she recounted her story. He had released his _dai-shui_ in the air to try and calm her, nuzzling into her temple to try and alleviate some of her discomfort. She snuggled closer to him, holding onto him and taking unsteady breaths as his purr rumbled softly for her.

It physically _pains_ him to hear of how those revolting _oomans_ had taken her, violated her, his mandibles spreading at the images she described. His desire to make those humans live again is overwhelming, if only just for him to ensure that their deaths were even more excruciating. His bloodlust for their suffering is only soothed by Selene’s warm body against him. She is here with him, safe and unharmed. 

At that time, Ni’Kotam had just landed on the blue planet with his new upgrades and augmentations, the injection of _ooman_ DNA, and he had felt the effects of them greatly. He had been to Earth many times for hunts before, but this was the first time with the changes implemented and they interfered with his mind almost instantly. He found himself thinking more, using emotion rather than logic and rationality for many of the decisions he had made. It confused him to no end, distracted him. He doubted himself more, his judgments compromised.

The newly Blooded yautja had decided to pursue easier prey to get used to these new developments, it would not do to question himself on a hunt with a more challenging foe. He had been pursuing an human trafficker in the southern islands of the northern continent; the human’s savagery had caught his attention when he had scanned the area for possible targets. He had already been over the main continent, the largest one, and found nothing to his liking.

He had observed the golden toothed creature and his crew for weeks, learned their routines and behaviors, and stalked them relentlessly as they planned another kidnapping. He was cloaked, high in the trees as he watched three _oomans_ being escorted down the path where he was perched, only for one of the male _oomans_ that lead them to turn on the others and took the unsuspecting family against their wills. He'd tilted his head curiously as he watched, his vision changed to detect rapid heart rates. Deception, a shameful tactic.

The silent hunter had followed them to a run-down building deep within the jungle and settled nearby to study his prey and calculate his movements. This unfortunately led to Ni’Kotam being subjected to the screams of those his quarry had taken. He listened and watched for days as they had tortured the younger female, the older one had been shot and disposed of on the first day, the metallic stench of _ooman_ blood was heavy in the air. It disgusted him, how these _oomans_ could treat a small female in that manner, and he had wanted to intervene, to _save_ her. He wanted to step in with every broken cry and shriek of pain she let out, but he couldn’t risk losing sight of his prey. Yautjas did not interfere with matters not of their concerns, and she was no exception.

But the sounds of her agony grated on him, touched a nerve twisted deep inside him that he hadn’t known he possessed. He hadn't been able to endure it and at the first opportunity, he had created a distraction and sprinted through the trees, killing every _ooman_ in the vicinity until only the three males that had tortured the female were left. He was still young and finesse wasn’t his forte at the best of times, but he wanted to generate as much chaos as he could, sending the _oomans_ scurrying around like scuttling _zabin_.

The Blooded yautja had hunted them, made them scream and beg as he mutilated them, one by one, leaving the leader for last. As his prey watched his men fall, he had attempted to attack Ni’Kotam with a long blade and a pitiful war cry, but the hunter was too quick and pierced his flesh with his _ki’cti-pa_ , wrist blades, disemboweling him, his guts falling out on the jungle floor. He roared in victory as he pulled the spine and skull from the body, warm blood splatted everywhere. Ni’Kotam gave his head a shake, sending his tresses whipping about his shoulders, satisfaction cooling his ferocity.

After he dealt with her assailants and secured the skulls in his trophy net on his belt, he went in search of the female and checked the building she had been in but growled in frustration when he saw she was gone. The stench of fear and blood left a trail that he followed easily. He spotted her a few minutes later, the _dto_ , jungle, too thick for her to navigate through. A shivering, naked female hunched in on herself. She looked so helpless, vulnerable. His yautja mind revolted at the picture she presented. Pathetic.

As a yautja, his instincts and training had told him to leave her to her fate. She was not his responsibility. Survival of the fittest, laws of nature, that was their way. She was not part of his hunt, but seeing her lying there, covered in blood and body broken…he _couldn’t_. She was innocent. She was a victim, undeserving of such a gruesome end. Other humans would never find her out there, she would be dead soon from her injuries and lost to the jungle. There, Ni’Kotam knew he had to do something uncharacteristic of his species.

He interfered.

The alien hunter had picked her up, as gently as he could, listening to her unconscious whimpering, and carried her back to his ship. She was so soft and warm in his arms. He laid her on the very table where they sit at now and assessed the damages. He was surprised that she was still alive, her lungs were filling with blood from the splintered ribs, some ligaments were bent at awkward angles, but her injuries were no match for his advanced yautja medicine. He had easily corrected all the broken bones, cleaned off the dried blood and administered antibiotics that would prevent infection. He had nodded to himself when his work was over. She would make it.

Other than healing her wounds, he had no idea what to do with her. He had a naked _ooman_ female on his shuttle and was expected back at the clan ship in a few days. All he could do at that time was wait until she regained consciousness and then, maybe he would have a plan. It still surprised Ni’Kotam that when she did finally wake, she was not frightened of him.

Pulling away from his thoughts so that he could focus on the distressed female in his lap, he stands slowly, sliding her off of his leg to set her on the chair next to him. Her large emerald eyes look up at him in alarm that he is moving away, but he reassures her with a louder purr and a few chirps. He raises his paw and holds up a finger to her, forming the foreign letters in his mouth, “ _Ssstay_.”

She nods her head tentatively, crossing her arms and grabbing at her shoulders. He can feel her watching him as he goes to his personal chamber, spotting her discarded outer layer, her jacket, on the bed. He retrieves the garment and digs through the pouches in search for her translator. She will need it.

Ni’Kotam returns to her and holds up his outstretched hand with the device in his palm. Her eyes flick from his face to the translator and she takes it from him after a moment of hesitation, as if he had ill intent towards her. He wants to scoff at the notion that he would ever hurt her, but he stows those thoughts and remains stoic and inert. She pulls her dark hair out of the way and places the device in her ear, turning it on and returning his awaiting gaze. He nods and holds his arms out for her to come and sit with him again, and she does so, shuffling into his embrace. He settles her against his bare chest, petting her hair back from her face as he rumbles, “I have more to say than what you can understand.”

She nods her head with another sniff, hunching in on herself in his lap, mirroring her position from when he found her nearly dead in that jungle. He detests seeing her this way, distraught and fearful. It grates on that exposed nerve again, and his instincts rise to push away the unwanted sensation of it being prodded and inflamed. He huffs a growl, his lower tusks spreading, “It angers me to hear you describe what those _oomans_ did with such detail.” Her watery eyes rise to look up at him and he is momentarily stunned at the helplessness in those shimmering jewels, “But, if it helps you heal and move forward, then I am pleased that you told me.”

She visibly swallows and his purr deepens for her, her voice strained, “It does help. It feels like,” She lets out a long breath, sitting up straighter, “It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Like I don’t have to carry the memories around with me on my own anymore.”

He hums idly, tracing her bicep with his claws, “I will help carry any burden you have, Selene.”

She smiles briefly at his words, another tear falling down her cheek, “I wouldn’t have gotten out of there alive if it weren’t for you.” She turns towards him and leans her forehead against his, and he returns the intimate gesture devotedly, “I don’t think I ever really thanked you for it.”

He nuzzles against her, shutting his eyes and enjoying the affection she offers him, “There was no need.” He did not require gratitude.

“There is, though.” She leans back abruptly, and he does the same, her gaze intense, “For the longest time after you got me home, I resented you for it.” He is taken aback by that statement. She has never told him this and he doesn’t know how to feel about it. She looks down at her fidgeting fingers and bites at her plump lower lip, “I wanted to die out there. My family was gone,” He can see her jaw trembling again, “I had nothing else to live for.”

Ni’Kotam mulls over her words silently. His chest tightens at her confession of desiring death, but he can’t make any sense of it. Her behavior that day does not match those wishes, it must be a misunderstanding. He shifts in his seat, “If that were true, then why did you run?” Her brows come together at his inquiry and she glances at him, waiting for him to elaborate, “You could have remained there, waiting for them to return. But you did not linger when you saw the opportunity to escape.” He clicks his mandibles together in assurance, “You still had fight left in you, a will to live.”

Selene shrugs her shoulders, and her eyes drop away, “I guess,” She trails off, getting lost in her own thoughts, and he watches her face for any sign of acknowledgment, but finds none. She continues to fidget in his lap, and he can sense that she is not satisfied with the way the conversation is going. Though it is difficult for him to sympathize with her, he can feel her pain and he wants more than anything to take it away.

“I will not pretend to understand how you are feeling, Selene.” He takes a claw and pulls her hair behind her ear that has fallen in front of her pale face, “Yautja, we…” He pauses, seeing more tears falling down her cheeks silently. He must think of a way to explain without upsetting her more, “We do not put great emphasis on our sires, our family units consist only of siblings and bearers.”

He huffs, frustrated with his inability to express what he is thinking, a fight between his yautja side and human side combating for dominance in his head, “We…care for them, yes. Respect and honor them. We wish for them to live, but we grieve quickly when they die and depending on the nature of their deaths, revere them for their strength and honor in life.” Seeing no reaction from her, he switches tactics, hoping to garner some sort of response, “But losing ones you care for a in such a way would be disturbing.”

His eyes widen when she lets out a small cry, hiding her face in her hands and trying to pull her knees closer to her chest, “It was all my fault.”

_Pauk_. He’s upset her more. He chirps at her, increasing his musk and purring louder. More so to settle her, but also for his own distress at her seeing her so unhappy. He takes her hands away from her face, grabbing her chin with his thumb and fore-knuckle gently and lifting her head up, her large, emerald eyes shining with tears, “You were led astray. It was not your ‘fault’. The fault lies on those that deceived you.”

She shakes her head angrily, her cheeks turning a tint of red, “It doesn’t change the fact that if it wasn’t for me.” Her voice cracks and she stutters in a breath, “They would both be alive right now.”

“Would they?” He questions, cocking his head so that his tendrils fall off his shoulder, “You do not know that.”

She licks her lips and his purr falters at the motion, “What do you mean?”

He tilts his head the other way, “We cannot predict the future, Selene, as much as we would like to. There are many things that could have transpired that would have taken their lives. Take the situation we are in now, for example.” He stops and ponders his next statement carefully, trying not to sound callous, “If it brings you any comfort, the events that led you here were necessary.” His paw moves from her chin to hold her cheek in his palm, “You now have the opportunity to save your planet from my clan destroying it.”

She leans into his cradling touch, “Are you saying you wouldn’t have helped if we hadn’t met?”

“I would have no reason to.” He brings their foreheads together again, and she goes willingly. A small victory. “I am doing all of this for you.”

She blinks rapidly a few times and her lips turn up in a small smile again, but quickly fades away. They remain silent for a few moments. It pleases him that he can calm her down, ease her stress. Yautja musk truly does work on _ooman_ females. She grabs the hand at her cheek and holds it, bringing their clasped limbs down into her lap so that she can grip onto him. He allows it, knowing that she needs the security and solidarity of his presence.

“So,” She begins hesitantly, clearing her throat, “You’re not really close with their parents?”

He looks away from her, his chest expanding with a deep breath and considers the question, “With our bearers, or mothers as you would call them, we are. They teach us how to live and survive until we can start our training for the _chiva_ , our trial.” His arm around her small waist tightens and she leans into him further, “We know of our fathers, but they are not involved. The females prefer they stay away from the communal housing that the pups are all raised in.” He still recalls how his mother and other females had to shoo away a male in search for his own suckling. Now that Ni’kotam has grown, he can remember Ha’Kuth being the one to barge in on the young ones. The behavior was odd and was never explained. Males usually never bothered with the females and their pups, but he didn’t think anything of it. He was too preoccupied practicing with the small spear his mother had let him play with at the time.

“Then,” He continues, “We are trained by fathers and uncles to prepare for the life of a hunter.” At the mention of training, Ni’Kotam develops an idea that might help her understand, and to distract her from her sorrow. It’s not anything substantial, but perhaps it will show her that she is not alone in experiencing loss and grief. He has had many in his lifetime.

His head gestures towards the door in the back of the room leading to the _kehrite_ , his tendrils tickling her shoulders, “Come. I have something I wish to show you.” 

As he moves her off his lap gently, she grimaces, “It’s not gunna be more skulls, is it?”

He chortles, stifling the laugh, “No, this is something different.” Her face remains pinched and he winces at his reaction. It was not meant to be humorous. He turns to her, his olive eyes down and apologetic, “That was my mistake. I did not realize that those would bring forth such painful memories for you.”

She smiles timidly as she gets to her feet next to him, the top of her head barely reaching his pectorals, “It’s not your fault, I know what you were trying to do.”

He rumbles a purr and a series of clicks, and puts an arm around her slim shoulders, leading her to the training room. It isn’t far, just down the hall of the main common room that he and his brothers and sisters had shared. The doors open at his presence, the warm air hitting his hide, causing the spines along his chest to stiffen. The lights flicker on, illuminating the large space used for combat training and sparring. He has had many fights in this room with his brothers, many times he has been bested and times where he has drawn the blood of another. Some to boast about, but none he wants to disclose to the female next to him. He may be young and impulsive at times, but he is not arrogant. 

Ni’Kotam lets Selene examine the room around her, watching her head turn this way and that, her eyes darting around excitedly. He clicks in amusement at her inquisitiveness. So curious, his little _ooman_ . There are several mats along the floor, weapons lockers and armor stands sitting on the fall wall and silver metal tables for cleaning and repairing. He prefers to have his own armor in his room, close by, but most had decided to store them down here. A strange feeling of guilt enters his mind when he recalls all of the weapons and gear he had stolen, not to mention the trophies still hung up in the display room that are not his own. It wasn’t intentional; his only purpose was to commandeer the ship and escape, he didn’t think off all the possessions still stowed away on the vessel. He shakes his head. It doesn’t matter. Most of those skulls were acquired through unworthy means anyway. “Where are we?” Her voice echoes off the metal.

His arm gestures to the room with a wide ark, “This is the _kehrite_ , the training room, where we…train.”

She glances back at him with a smirk at his snarky answer, snorting a laugh, “Thanks, captain obvious.”

He clicks his tusks at her good naturedly, poking at her ribs with his claws to make her giggle and squirm, batting his hand away. He chuckles, already relief washing over him at seeing her smile again. He guides her to the back wall where all of the weapons are stored and he tries to ignore the flashing red lights of the other storerooms, indicating that they haven’t been in use for a while.

Ni’Kotam shows her his assigned locker, punching in the six digit code for entry. It beeps in acknowledgment and slides open with a mechanical hiss, revealing his personal inventory of weapons. He doesn’t have as much as the others do in their storage units. A _ki’cti-pa_ , combistick, a _sivk’va-tai_ , plasma caster, and a _bhrak-chei_ , spear gun. The usual for a Blooded hunter. But what he is searching for is the gleaming silver and grey spear in the middle of his arsenal.

He reaches in and pulls out his most prized possession, circling around carefully to show her, “This was my mother’s glaive.” He announces, caressing the long weapon fondly. He admires the twin-headed spear, with serrated blades perched on the ends that were forged of the bones of the _quatza-rij_ , the fiercest and most formidable creature on Prime. His mother had killed it herself with no assistance from others, which was a rare feat for a female to accomplish. Golden beads and sharp teeth clink together from the cords that wrapped around each end, a peculiar medallion dangling off the handle grip. He still doesn’t know the significance of such a trinket. The weapon is hefty in his paw, the import behind the ownership of this glaive a heavy burden on his heart.

“Wow.” She breathes, looking it over but not attempting to grab it and hold it for herself, her eyes wide. For that he is grateful, knowing that it would be too substantial for her human hands carry. Her gaze return to his, “ _Was_ your mother’s?”

He nods his head solemnly, backing away and twirling the spear easily in the open space, the movements precise and practiced, his words bereft of emotion, “Yes. She was killed on a hunt and passed this on to me.” He can still remember the day the news arrived of her death. It was an honorable one, according to those that were there to witness it. She died in glorious battle against a challenging prey. A death worthy of respect. When one of the clan members presented this weapon to him and told him that she wished him to have it, he had been surprised to say the least, but no less privileged. He huffs a laugh, a tusk lifting in amusement, ceasing his movements and admiring the blades. “I’d like to think I was her favorite.” He says absentmindedly.

Selene’s eyes light up, “You have siblings?” 

He glances down at her, wondering why this would excite her, “By blood? Yes. A brother and a sister.”

“Where are they?” She asks even more eagerly.

If she is expecting a positive answer, she will be disappointed. He lowers the weapon, setting the tip of one end on the floor,“Bakuba died during his _chiva_ , killed by a serpent.” His blood brother was nothing like Ni’Kotam, with his bronze and khaki hide and bulkier frame, nothing like Ni’Kotams pale yellow and black speckled skin. He was always too zealous, too hot-headed for Ni’Kotam’s liking. He never spent too much time around him unless it was for training, and even then, they rarely spoke. His mother always tried to force the two males to hunt together, but Bakuba branched out to his own circle of hunters, leaving Ni’Kotam behind to hunt on his own. It hadn’t bothered him and he believes it better honed his skills as a result.

“And Mirahli, she…” He blinks, his mandibles flaring with a sudden jolt of grief entering his heart causing his throat to close momentarily, “She was killed when she declined to breed with one of the clan members that was heavily augmented. He was enraged that she refused him and he cut her down.” Mirahli was a worthy female; her hide colored yellow and jade, but with a shimmering shade of silver spotted along her shoulders and forearms. There was nothing that Ni’Kotam could have done to stop it. He was not there when it happened and when he tried to reconcile the travesty by challenging the one who killed her, he was stopped by Ha’Kuth and his guards, Ni’Kotam’s own life in peril for going after the one responsible. He will never forget that abominations name. _Veka’tull_. His gray and red scales, broken tusk and nearly white eyes will forever be burned into his memory. 

Selene ducks her head to catch his empty, far off stare, a fretful hint in her gaze, “You mean she was murdered?”

He nods his head somberly, blinking a few times before turning around to lie his prized weapon gently on its allocated rack as he answers her, taking a step back and closing the locker door, “Yes, she was murdered.” He attempts not to dwell on the past, but the death of his sister had hit him hard, and that was before human DNA was introduced into his bloodstream. His own blood family was dead, and he resented the remaining clan for falling so far away from tradition and expectation. He was an outcast long before he ran.

She lays a hand on his arm, and he purrs at her touch, “I’m so sorry.” The pity is not necessary. He had grieved for his siblings, but he appreciates Selene’s attempts to ease him all the same. She turns away to the weapons bench, resting her hands on the metal and whispers more to herself than to him, “I guess we’re both alone in this universe, huh.”

He cocks his head at her statement. Alone? They are not alone, they have each other. He understands what she is implying, but he disagrees. A Yautja without a clan, and human without a home. An unlikely pair, yes, but one he wouldn’t trade for the universe. He has become so attached to this little _ooman_ female that no clan could offer him the same amount of comfort and acceptance that she has. He steps up behind her and lays a gentle paw on her hip, “I wouldn’t say that.”

She slowly turns around to face him, and he takes his other hand to her opposite hip, flexing the digits. She looks up shyly, and he is unable to read what she is thinking, the expression on her face almost apprehensive, “Did you love them?”

He bristles a bit at the human term awkwardly, “We do not ‘love’ as you _oomans_ do. It is more, we respect and care for the wellbeing of each other. We honor them when they are worthy of it.”

She inches closer to him, laying both hands on his pectorals, his hide tingling at the soft touch. He knows that she understands the intimacy of such a gesture, and yet, here she is, close enough for him to hear her rapid heartbeat. He can’t help the steady purr that rumbles from his chest, the vibration now an involuntary reaction when it comes to her smooth skin against his hide, “So instead of loving someone, you honor them?”

He nods, the cuffs along his tendrils clinking together. His hands travels to hold her flush against him, one paw remaining at her hip as the other moves to the small of her back. The air is heavy with his musk and the tension between them is palpable, “Yes. If that is how you would like to put it.” A scent hits his nose that is all too familiar, making his head spin and eyelids flutter subtly. A sweet aroma that emanates from her. Is that…her arousal? There is no mistaking it.

Her throat bobs with a visible swallow and she whispers, “Would you ever honor me?” The intent behind her inquiry is not lost on him, but it surprises him. She has not been so bold in the past. He can see it in her eyes, the longing, the desire. She finds her courage and gazes directly into his eyes, her blunt teeth biting her bottom lip again. She is giving him an opening, an invitation, and he doesn’t plan on wasting it this time, nor letting anything distract them.

The hunter cranes his neck down substantially, his crest bumping against her forehead, his eyes heavy lidded and soft, “Of course I honor you, Selene.”

There is a long pause between them, the air permeating with hunger and lust, and trepidation. Perhaps this is her way of distracting herself, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to wait anymore. He wouldn’t consider himself over zealous or reckless, but impatient? For her? Absolutely. He _craves_ her.

He bends at the knees and grabs his female around the backs of her thighs and lifts her. She gasps and grips onto his shoulders as he settles her on the table, slotting himself between her slim, open legs. His cock stirs excitedly behind his sheath and he pushes his hips up into hers with a purring growl, garnering her reaction, hopeful that he has not stepped over any boundaries and ready to back away if she is not receptive. She moans breathily and it is all the acceptance he needs, running his hands up and down her back roughly, his tusks tangling in her hair as he nuzzles the top of her head. She lays her lips on his speckled shoulder repeatedly, circling her thin arms around his neck and his musk is now saturating the air around them, nearly suffocating.

He has never mated before, he was Blooded after Ha’Kuth ordered the clan initiate the augmentations. Most of the females were already dead or were no longer available for mating, their heat cycles having been altered or permanently removed. None were interested in a newly Blooded male that had refused to conform to the clan’s ideals. He is thankful for that though, as he didn’t have any pups that he had left behind. No, he saves that honor for the little _ooman_ currently grinding against his member and writhing in his arms. He would rather fill _her_ with his pups and he intends to do just that.

“Niko…” He raises his head at the pet name she has given him, her pupils are blown and she is panting, unadulterated ,i>need clear in her beautiful emeralds. She grips onto his tendrils and his purr stutters into a whine, his claws flexing into her squirming hips, “ _Take me_.”

He snarls low in his throat at the request. No, the _demand_ , and quickly lifts her off the table easily and cradles her protectively against him, her legs wrapping around his waist instantly and his paws grip onto her ass. With desire and absolute _need_ clouding his thoughts, he heads straight for his chambers, more than ready to finally mark her as his mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo getting hot and heavy! Ya'll know what's coming up in chapter 9 ;) no teasing, it's finally happening in the next chapter!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long!

“… _Of course I honor you, Selene_.”

The air is stolen from her lungs in a whispered gasp, leaving her breathless and dizzy. He could surely hear her heart beating rapidly, her blood pumping through her veins, her palms sweaty. Her emerald eyes resemble saucers as she gazes up into the olive orbs of her most beloved friend, her hero, her _savior_. Selene still has difficulty deciphering what he’s feeling based on his facial features, even with all the time they have spent together. His piercing, beady eyes are genuine, his tusks tight against his mouth, and the muscles where his nose would be twitch, scenting the air that is certainly soaked in her arousal. She could never hide that from him.

The young woman squirms against him as he lifts her up on the table, all sensation pinpointing on the way he is touching her. His paws on her body, the rough scratch of his claws on her waist through her shirt, his mandibles nuzzling the top of her head. She closes her eyes, her lids fluttering as her hips undulate against him, grinding her core against his covered groin. She has been waiting for this moment for what seems like a lifetime, too embarrassed or too stubborn to admit her feelings for him until now. He had taken the first step, no longer denying the carnal tension between them that has boiled over into a raging storm of love and lust. She can’t help the words that spill from her mouth as he all but claims her right there on the table, “ _Take me_ ,” not fully understanding what the implications of such a demand would mean, only needing more of _him._

With her brazen words and the grip of her thighs around his abdomen, Niko wastes no time and hoists her up with a growl, whirling around and proceeding to carry her through the metal halls back to the safety and privacy of his room. Selene can’t keep still, wiggling in his strong arms that hold her like she weighs nothing, laying kisses on every inch of his speckled hide. His skin is rough against her lips and fingers as they explore his shoulders and neck. His purr deepens and his gait falters when she nips at a sensitive spot on his throat.

The doors open and close to his personal chambers, but she barely notices them, too focused on the alien that is hugging her tight to his large body. He stops at the foot of the bed and pulls her away from his neck, his eyes that were once a duskier yellow have darkened to an intense jade, his pupils now expanding to condense the brilliant colors, matching the desire and need swirling inside of her. She takes in a stuttering breath at the site. Selene is trembling in his arms and they’ve barely just begun.

He crawls onto the bed with her, taking great care not to crush or drop her. She lays back against the furs with his guidance, keeping her legs spread for him to settle between. His middle is so wide that her thighs stretch uncomfortably, her jeans tight against her skin. Her arms encircle around his neck, as much as she is able, his long dreads forming a curtain around them when he leans down, his forearms caging her head in. She visibly swallows down the nerves that are threatening to become too much for her to handle, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

She has never had sex before, nor has she been in any intimate relationship worth noting. The men that had kidnapped her did many horrible things to her body, but they never penetrated her, never took away that special part from her. She squirms, trying to push away those memories. They do not belong here. Though, looking at Niko’s body, the size difference between them and his heavy weight on top of her, it causes the same unpleasant sensations to resurface. _But this is Niko_ , she tells herself in her head, trying to focus on the here and now, _he would never hurt me._

Niko, unaware of her internal struggle, attempts to slide his paws under her shirt and tear it off in his excitement. His claws cut at her skin, drawing blood and causing her to hiss between her teeth in the sudden jolt of pain. She grabs the hem of her shirt, covering herself on impulse and clutching at the small wound. It isn’t substantial and normally she would not be bothered by it, but it is enough to send her into a slight panic, her breathing becoming erratic for a different reason entirely.

He rears back at her unexpected reaction, sitting up on his knees and finally picking up on her discomfort, his purr a constant rumble vibrating through his chest. That musky scent that emanates from him is thick in the air, the same one that he uses to soothe her when she is upset. It’s intoxicating, and she breathes deeply, letting the aroma drain away her apprehension. She can tell that he is reigning in his enthusiasm, his limbs shaking with his restraint as he trills. He tilts his head, his leathery dreads falling off his shoulders, “Are you alright?”

Selene snaps her eyes up to his own, his thorny brows pulled together in a frown. He hasn’t realized that he has cut her. She lifts her white shirt to show him the wound on her ribs and he lets out a flurry of clicks, his mandibles twitching as he looks down at his claws, examining them closely, “I didn’t…I…”

“It’s okay,” She reaches out and grabs onto his hands, swallowing down her anxiety and trying to smile, “We’ll just have to be more careful.”

He clenches his fists around her fingers and nods his head, his neck muscles straining, though beyond that, he doesn’t move. She attempts to ease his mind further when she pulls off her shirt and drops it off the side of the bed, her bra now the only piece of clothing on her chest. She reaches behind her and unhooks it, sliding it away and revealing her modest breasts to his piercing gaze, the thrill of his eyes on her bare chest shooting another wave of arousal to her center. _This is **Niko**_ , she repeats in her head firmly, _I want this with him._

Selene isn’t sure if female yautja have breasts, but the look in his eyes as he stares at her chest is more than enough to make her blush, her cheeks turning red. She ducks her head shyly at his unwavering scrutiny, but he _still_ hasn’t moved to touch her any further.

This enormous alien hunter that has killed and maimed so many creatures in this universe, that has the strength of more than ten men and the ability to tear her apart, is now treating her like a fragile doll. She wants to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, but that would more than likely kill the mood, and he already looks like he’s about to bolt from the bed.

“You can touch me.” She whispers, and it’s like she flipped a switch in his head, her verbal consent the last line he was waiting to cross. He immediately leans over her with one hand on the bed to support his weight, the other going to cup one of her breasts, gently holding the small globe in his massive paw, squeezing it gently. She lets out a small moan at his rough, calloused palm against her smooth skin, biting her bottom lip as a clawed thumb scrapes across her nipple.

“So soft,” He rumbles. At hearing his voice come through the translator still attached to her ear, Selene gets an idea. If they are going to do this, there is one thing that she will need to request of him. She lifts a hand to her ear, and his eyes follow the movement, “What are you doing?” He asks, tilting his head in that adorable way he does when he’s curious or confused.

She presses the button on the device, deactivating it with a series of beeps. She pulls it from her ear and throws it in the direction of the table beside the bed. She returns to him and lays her hand on the side of his mandibles, pulling him down, “I want to hear you as you are, Niko. Nothing between us.” His purr rumbles deeper as he says something in his language, the points of his tusks stroking her cheeks lovingly. She can’t understand a word he is saying, but she doesn’t need to, smiling up at him.

For two, painful years, this extraterrestrial has been her constant comfort ever since her family was ripped away from her. Ever since her life was completely and utterly destroyed. She can never imagine her life without him now. She never thought that she would want to experience any form of intimacy, not after the horrors she was forced to endure, but she wants this with him, desperately, and she can’t bear the thought of waiting any longer.

Her eyes flick down to his alien mouth, the sharp teeth within menacing and threatening. She bites her bottom lip in consideration. How is this going to work exactly? No, she’s thinking too much. She needs to be more assertive. He likes it when she is more aggressive. She lifts her legs higher on his waist and squeezes him with her still covered thighs and encircles his neck once more, forcing him down to her. His mandibles spread to allow her closer and she lays a gentle kiss against the soft, pink flesh inside.

He chirps in surprise, but rumbles deep inside his chest, his snake like tongue slithering out to touch at her lips. She gasps, opening her mouth and tilting her head, meeting him halfway with her own appendage. She lets out a breathy moan when she tastes him, exotic, earthy, a metallic hint and entirely not human. His tongue is much longer than she thought it was and it puts images in her head of Niko between her legs, wiggling that tongue inside of her, her panties now soaked.

Niko’s paw moves up along her side, his claws scratching against her skin, mindful of the now coagulated wound. She shivers as he cups her breasts again, massaging the globes in his hands and craning his neck down to lick around the rosy buds, switching from one breast to the other. Selene tilts her head back, carding her hands through his rubbery tresses as he continues to lavish attention to her breasts. With each rasp of his tongue, simmering sparks travel across her heated skin and down into her pussy, causing the muscles to contract around nothing. Her panties have become wet and uncomfortable against her labia, and she wriggles her hips against him with impatience.

Suddenly, he lifts onto his knees again, leaving her feeling cold. His chest expands rapidly, his fingers flexing into fists, looking at her as if he wants to _eat_ her. His mandibles spread as he slowly moves his hands down to his leather loincloth, unbuckling it and letting it fall onto the bed. He grabs it and drops it onto the floor next to the bed, letting Selene see him for the first time, never breaking eye contact with her as he goes to grab his fully formed erection.

Her jaw tenses as her eyes widen further at the site of his bare cock, another gush of wetness rushing through her core. His dick is _huge_ , massive compared to her tiny body. It’s a pale yellow, just like the hide on his abdomen, with a slightly green tint running along the veins. The head of his cock is tapered, ridges and bumps line the sides of his thick girth, curving upward. The shaft leads down to a bulbous ball of flesh where it meets his groin, centered between what looks like petals that have opened up to allow his cock to emerge. It twitches in his grip, almost like it has a mind of its own. Selene swallows nervously, trepidation now surging through her. _How the hell is that thing going to fit inside me?_

The hunter grabs her hips and begins to tug down her pants and panties roughly with an impatient snarl. She jumps with a yelp as he yanks them off, taking her boots with them. She shivers as the cooler ship air hits her naked flesh and she instinctively moves her hands to cover up her most intimate areas, closing her thighs, feeling extremely vulnerable at suddenly being disrobed completely. His forcefulness startles her and she scoots back further onto the bed as he tries to pull her towards him. He pumps his cock a few times, a clear liquid shining on the rigid shaft and if Selene wasn’t so alarmed, she would have melted at the erotic site of him pleasuring himself. Save that for another time, Selene.

He grabs her right thigh and starts to spread her legs again when she holds up a hand, struggling in his grip, “Wait, Niko. Stop!”

The young yautja’s head snaps up to hers, his tresses whipping around his shoulders. She is taken aback at the wild look in his eyes, primal and full of need. His mandibles flex outward and a growl leaves his throat, sending a chill up her spine. A small hint of fear tinges at the edge of her mind, but she quickly throws that thought away. _He is just as excited as I am, maybe even a bit more. I have to calm him down._

Selene pushes him to his knees again and he watches her intently as she slowly opens her legs to lay on either side of his thighs, his nose muscles twitch as he growls even louder, licking the outside of his inner teeth as he slowly strokes his stiff member. His gaze jumps down to her now glistening center, and he flexes the claws on his other hand. _I trust him_ , she reminds herself.

“See the difference?” She indicates to the opening of her pussy with a heated blush, then points to his massive erection.

Niko nods his head slowly, his natural voice a series of clicks and trills, “ _Sei-i_.”

She ducks her head, giving him a sultry smile, “I might need a little help getting ready for you, big guy.”

He groans, but it comes out as more of a whine as his eyes shut momentarily. She can’t help but giggle at him, holding her hand out for him to take. He does so, the other hand still fisting his cock, almost as if he can’t help himself. She leads his free hand to her lower belly, letting him feel the softness of her skin with his fingertips. She pushes his digits down, showing him where to touch her, biting her bottom lip as she guides his hand to her eager center.

Selene is not new to masturbation. She has pleasured herself on more than one occasion to this very scenario and she has seen enough TV shows and movies to understand what is _supposed_ to happen, but all the porn on Earth could never have prepared her for sex with her _alien_ boyfriend. She knows it will hurt, there is no doubt about that with such a big difference between them, but they can at least work her open to the point of it being physically possible. He is about three times the size as her and his cock is about as thick as her wrist. It will be a tight fit, but she is more than determined to share this with him. She wants to give herself to him completely.

She has him cup her excited mound, encouraging him to skim his fingers over her sensitive folds. She lets go of his paw to let him explore, laying both of her hands on the bed and craning her neck down to watch him, her cheeks now sporting a permanent blush. He takes initiative, using his fore and middle finger to trace along the outside of her labia. He moves his fingers up and down, causing her breath to stutter as he teases her mercilessly. He sweeps over the little nub of flesh hidden between her lips and she jumps at the sudden contact with her clit. His eyes flick to her face with a questioning trill, and then lower back down to her center, gently swiping at her pearl again and again, more than eager now that he has found the pinpoint of her pleasure.

Niko alternates between rough strokes and tender slides, his fingers dropping lower and discovering her opening, swirling the moisture of her wetness that has seeped out of her, pushing in one digit cautiously. She tenses when she feels the tip of his claw, hissing between her teeth, “C-careful.” He growls and clicks his tusks, sounding like a mix between a laugh and gentle reassurance. She gasps at the intrusion of his finger entering her body, spreading her legs further. He sinks the digit in, pulling it back out and then repeating the motion, the rough texture of his hide against her pussy walls adding new sensations, her cunt clenching around the steadily thrusting finger.

He snarls as she unconsciously squeezes him, adding a second digit, stretching her open more than she ever could with her small, nimble fingers. Selene moans, the burn fading into a dull pleasure that builds and builds the more he pumps his fingers inside her, curling them up until he hits a spot inside her she has never reached before. She cries out when he finds it, her back arching slightly off the bed. He clicks a few times, adding a _third_ finger and that makes her wince, but he reduces the pace, slowly picking back up as she thrashes around on the bed, gripping the furs below her, her breasts rising and falling rapidly, a small sheen of sweat making her body shine in the low lights of his room.

His thumb circles back to her pearl, massaging the engorged nub back and forth, up and down, never using the same technique twice. _He learns fast_. He uses his other hand to pull back the hood hiding her tiny clit from him. His eyes zero in on the swollen flesh, using a hunter’s precision in his movements. He fucks her with his fingers as his thumb continues to swipe against her little pearl, her hips bucking against his hand.

Selene looks down and gasps when she sees him staring at her as he manipulates her body, his eyes intense and nearly glowing. The site alone sends her hurtling towards that razor edge, her hips now humping against his paw uncontrollably. The tension in her abdomen becomes taunt as the string is pulled tight, ready to snap. Selene shuts her eyes as the familiar swooping sensation inside her pussy dips, expands and then _shatters_.

The young girl throws her head back as cums on his fingers, wailing her pleasure and convulsing around the still pumping digits, a gush of wetness coating his paw. She can barely breath as the waves of extasy travel throughout her body, her skin tingling as all the nerves inside her fire off at once, the multitude of stars racing by the ship now dancing inside her vision. Her creamy thighs tremble as she rides out her high, attempting to close her legs around his hand, but he forces them back open with a low growl of warning, slowing his movements.

As she gradually comes down, she feels him cover her body, his massive weight pushing her further into the bed. She opens her eyes and comes face to face with Niko, his back arching so that he can be eye level with her. He licks her cheek with a trilling purr, pulling back with a desperate question in his lust filled orbs. She looks further down and watches as he strokes his heavy cock, the appendage twitching and _eager_ to be inside her. She had no idea a dick could _look_ eager. His mandibles bend and flare, his voice coming out jumbled and erratic. She doesn’t need a translator to know what he is asking, practically begging.

Selene wraps her trembling arms around his neck, nodding her head vigorously, more than ready for him. He bends his head to watch what he is doing, guiding his stiff cock to her opening, coating the pointed head in her slick. He pushes inside her, just the tip and that already is bigger than his two fingers. The stretch is immense, and she grits her teeth as he continues to slowly pump inside her body, an inch at a time. She jumps when a sudden pressure releases inside of her, allowing him to slide deeper. She can barely breath as the thickest part of him pops inside her, the lips of her pussy stretched to the limit around his throbbing member.

Once he is fully seated within her, or at least as much as he can be, she lets out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. _Fuck, it feels like he is splitting me in half!_ With all their preparation and the amount of her slick and his lubrication, it wasn’t enough. She concentrates on relaxing around his twitching girth, breathing through her nose and letting it out through her mouth slowly. She buries her face in his neck, her entire body tense as she waits for the burning pain to recede. For Niko, he stays as still as possible, petting her tangled hair and nuzzling the top of her head, purring loudly, laying motionless on top of her and allowing her to adjust to his size.

When she is finally able to catch her breath, she wriggles her hips against the intrusion experimentally. The pain has now waned into a dull ache and she squeezes her thighs around him to signal that he can move. Not needing any more encouragement, he retreats from her body, slowly, until just the head of his dick remains inside of her, then forces his way back inside, burying himself completely. He repeats the motion, in and out, the pain fading with every thrust until finally nothing but blinding pleasure overtakes her body. The air is so thick with his scent that she is nearly drowning, only adding to the sensation of Niko’s cock thrusting between her legs.

The hunter growls, gripping onto her hip with one paw as the other holds the top of her head to keep her from sliding away from him with every pump, his claws digging into her flesh without breaking skin. Niko starts fucking her roughly, pounding into her cunt. His ridged cock scrapes along her walls, her pussy fluttering around him. He changes the angle, pumping his hips in order to hit that one spot inside her that makes her eyes roll back.

Selene wails, “Niko! _Mmm_ , fuck! Niko, please!” 

She doesn’t know what she is begging him for, but he answers her plea with a vicious snarl. She yelps with he lifts up, cradling her to him with both of his paws on her ass. He gets to his knees, pulling her with him, her legs falling on the outside of his thighs. She settles onto his cock, the position forcing him to go even deeper. She looks down and is momentarily stunned at how she is able to take his massive cock inside her body, her pussy lips gaping around him. He distracts her from the site, bouncing her on him, now able to pummel her sweet spot over and over again. Her blunt nails dig into his shoulders, her cries of extasy no longer restrained. All she can do is let him have his way with her, dragging his cock along her walls and taking him as deep as she can, his tip kissing the entrance of her womb with each drive into her body.

“ _Huh! Uh!_ Oh, fuck! _Nnnn_ iko …I can’t…” She can’t form a coherent sentence, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut against the overwhelming sensations between her legs. His talons dig into the globe of her ass, pulling her onto his cock as he drives his hips up. His cock is ruthless, the ridges and bumps lining his shaft sliding against her just right, her cunt inflamed and swollen. A second orgasm builds inside her pussy, faster than the last one. The hood of her clit is pulled back, the little nub grinding against his scaly abdomen. It only takes a few more pumps of his hips before she is thrown over the edge once more, fluid gushing from her to soak them both.

She screams, throwing her head back as he continues to pound inside of her, a rough growl of satisfaction rumbling through his chest. Her pussy flutters around him, tightening and convulsing, the lewd, squelching sound of his member entering and exiting her body echoing in her ears. Her arms are limp as they encircle his neck, trying desperately to hold onto him.

Niko increases the intensity and rhythm of his hips, the low growl in his chest developing louder as his movements get more erratic and uncoordinated. His cock becomes harder, driving into her at a relentless pace. She winces when he attempts to pull her onto the bulbous flesh at the base of his dick. She is too tired to fight him and she cries out when it pops inside her, pressing against the walls of her pussy. She squirms in his lap as his base starts to expand, her cunt being stretched to the limit.

She can feel his dick twitch once, twice and then Niko lets out an ear-piercing roar of completion, a flood of his seed entering her womb. She hums happily as she feels him coating the inside of her cunt with his warm cum, his entire body tense and shaking. He continues to lazily thrust inside her, ensuring that all of his hot, virile seed is emptied into her still quivering pussy.

He holds her close as they both finish, the aftershocks coursing them, his cock still jerking within her. His muscles tremble, struggling to hold them both up. Selene is exhausted and remains limp against his chest. He shakes her once with a clicking trill, gently pulling her back from being buried in his neck. Her pushes her sweaty hair out of her eyes and behind her ear, examining her face for any signs of contempt. She smiles up at him, reassuring him that she is alright. She leans up and lays a kiss on his inner mouth, his tongue snaking out to lap at her lips. He cranes his neck down and presses his forehead against hers with a rumbling purr.

He gathers her in his arms and lays down on his back, letting her rest on top of him as he remains nestled inside her, his purr vibrating through her very tired body. He pulls the furs over them both, his claws rubbing up and down her back, the hum of the ship’s engines lolling her to sleep.

Just before she drifts off to oblivion, unaware if she is in a floating dream or still awake, she snuggles further into his chest, whispering, “I love you, Niko.”

She falls asleep before she can hear his response. His purrs deepens in his chest, his musk permeating around them, settling on them with warmth and comfort. He clutches her to his chest protectively, his claws running through her hair as he trills to his newly claimed female, “ _Ki mei’din se non-co._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:
> 
> Ki mei’din se non-co - My mate for life
> 
> OMG!! They finally did it!! Get ready for a smutty filled fic now ;)
> 
> I was so excited to work on this chapter, I hope it is to everyone's satisfaction!

**Author's Note:**

> Pauk-ui! - Fuck you!
> 
> Ta wyiat thsik R’ka, thwei yi thei-de ket vi s’yuitde ooman n’ithya - We will bring fire, blood, and death to the pathetic human planet!
> 
> zabin - A type of insect
> 
> M-di h’chak! - No mercy!
> 
> Thei-de ket vi oomans! - Death to the humans!
> 
> C’jit! - Shit!


End file.
